Monday, January 13, 2020

Two Philadelphia Men Charged in Series of Robberies of Pharmaceutical Delivery Trucks


PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Darryl Goodman, 55, and Nieem Cann, 26, both of Philadelphia, PA, were arrested and charged by Indictment for a series of violent robberies across the Delaware Valley over a four month period early last year.  The ten-count Indictment charges Goodman and Cann with various offenses including conspiracy, Hobbs Act robbery, brandishing a firearm, carjacking, and possession of fentanyl with intent to deliver. 

Between February and May 2019, the defendants are alleged to have perpetrated a string of violent robberies and attempted robberies of delivery workers and drivers for a pharmaceutical supplies company, TXX Services.  The defendants’ alleged attacks on TXX drivers spanned a large geographic area that includes the City of Philadelphia, Montgomery County, Delaware County and into New Jersey.  For each robbery, the defendants—working with other co-conspirators—would travel to TXX Services’ warehouse in Cherry Hill, NJ in the early morning hours and then follow a delivery van along its route.  Goodman and Cann would then assault the driver in the course of a delivery, carjack the delivery van and abduct the victim, and drive the van to another location in order to raid its supplies and resell them on the street.  In one of the incidents alleged in the Indictment, the robbery of a TXX delivery worker at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in March 2019, the defendants managed to steal over $140,000 worth of controlled substances and hospital supplies, including numerous vials of fentanyl citrate, a highly addictive opioid pain medicine.

“The allegations here are appalling, as the defendants ruthlessly stalked their victims before violently assaulting them,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “The TXX employees were simply doing their jobs, delivering much-needed medicine and supplies to healthcare centers, and of course should not have had to worry about having a gun pointed at them.  It takes a special kind of depravity to steal medicine and hospital supplies in this manner.  We will continue to work relentlessly to hold dangerous criminals accountable and get them off of the streets.”

“Not only did these defendants allegedly commit a string of brazen, violent carjack robberies, they did so in order to steal and sell controlled pharmaceuticals, including fentanyl, on the street,” said Michael T. Harpster, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Philadelphia Division. “Know that the Philadelphia Violent Crimes Task Force is working each and every day to stop dangerous criminals who have decided to make their money preying on the public.”

If convicted, both defendants face a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Crimes Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sara Solow.

An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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