United States Attorney David Metcalf has announced the sentencing of Naseem Rashidi Clouden, a 23-year-old resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On March 13, Clouden was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney to 121 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. The sentence was handed down for one count of carjacking and one count of carrying and using a firearm during a crime of violence.
Clouden was indicted in January 2023 and pleaded guilty in November 2024. He admitted to carjacking a woman who was seated in her mother's Toyota Camry on November 3, 2022, in Philadelphia's West Oak Lane section. As part of his plea agreement, Clouden acknowledged the use of a firearm during the incident.
Court documents reveal that the victim reported being approached by six men while she sat in her mother's vehicle. The group, including Clouden, attempted to forcefully enter the car. Two individuals pointed firearms at her and ordered her out of the vehicle. When she hesitated, one man shouted: “shoot her,” prompting her to exit immediately. Four offenders then drove away with the vehicle.
The victim contacted police immediately after the incident. Officers responding to the scene spotted the stolen vehicle and pursued it until it stopped on Old York Road's 6200 block. Three men fled on foot from the car; officers apprehended Clouden hiding under a van nearby after recovering a firearm from the scene.
U.S. Attorney Metcalf stated: “Naseem Clouden terrorized our city at gunpoint... The crime of federal carjacking brings significant prison time, as Clouden’s sentence shows: a decade in prison for a crime that took just moments to commit.”
Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division remarked: “‘Shoot her!’ a carjacker yelled... thanks to responding police officers, Naseem Rashidi Clouden has been convicted and sentenced to more than a decade in federal prison for it.”
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel emphasized: “This latest sentencing... is a testament to our commitment... Carjacking endangers... we will not tolerate it.”
This case falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative aimed at reducing violent crime through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives alongside the Philadelphia Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Stram.