By Jack Tomczuk
New charges have been filed against 21 individuals who are accused of participating in a gang war that sparked gun violence from South to Northwest Philadelphia.
Prosecutors said the suspects have been tied to at least one murder, 18 shootings, three carjackings and an armed robbery that occurred between January 2022 and August 2023. Many are already behind bars facing serious charges related to other offenses.
Investigators believe the defendants were members of “The Senders,” “The Close Range Gang,” “7th Street” and “PNB.” District Attorney Larry Krasner had a message for current or prospective members of the feuding groups.
“Maybe they used to be scared when they heard PNB,” he said at a news conference Thursday. “Well, now you’re known as Processed N’ Booked. Maybe people used to get nervous when they heard Senders. Well, now you been sent upstate. Some people talked about Close Range Gang, or CRG. It’s more like the Closed Walls Gang at this point.
“As for 7th Street, let’s just say 7th Street is going to be a whole lot more peaceful without the Unlucky 7,” Krasner continued.
Jayme Drayton and Marquan Flamer are being charged with murder for the June 2022 fatal shooting of 18-year-old Aquill Foster, who was gunned down while driving with his brother on the 600 block of Ritner Street in South Philadelphia, authorities said.
While most of the violence happened in South Philadelphia on the east side of Broad Street, Germantown and West Oak Lane, shootings connected to the conflict have also been documented in Northeast, North, West and Southwest Philadelphia, according to a map provided by the DA’s Office.
The charged incidents include a May 2023 triple shooting on the 600 block of Oregon Avenue, an April 2023 triple shooting on the 2200 block of S. 22nd Street, and a January 2022 triple shooting on the 700 block of Ritner Street.
Five of the suspects were arrested Thursday; the remainder were already incarcerated, authorities said.
Prosecutors said the new cases are building on a February 2025 indictment, charging a dozen people, primarily members of The Senders, in connection with a series of shootings. Several of those included in that original bust are now facing additional charges.
Assistant DA Adam Faraye, at a press briefing last year, told reporters that The Senders motto is “if you want to join The Senders, get a body, then you gang with us.” ‘Getting a body’ refers to the act of killing someone.
In both probes, defendants were charged through a grand jury presentment, a tool the DA’s Office has increasingly used to target gangs and solve yearsold murders and shootings.
Last month, prosecutors announced an indictment involving 19 alleged members of the Young Bag Chasers, CCK and Parkside Killers, all of which are based in West Philadelphia. Similarly, a majority of the suspects were already behind bars.