United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Chihean Jones, aka “Cha,” 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge for two commercial robberies and the murder of a Tacony gas station attendant during one of those robberies. Hodge sentenced Jones to life in prison for the murder and 20 years each for the robberies, to be served concurrently.
Jones was charged in January 2024 with two counts of robbery interfering with interstate commerce, murder in the course of using and carrying a firearm and using and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. In November of last year, a federal jury found him guilty on all counts.
As detailed in court filings and proven at trial, on Aug. 22, 2022, the defendant drove two other men to a cell phone store on the 100 block of E. Olney Ave. While Jones waited in his Chevrolet Suburban, the two others went inside the store, forced their way into a back room and stole multiple cell phones. The three men then fled the scene in the defendant’s Suburban.
Then, on Jan. 17, 2023, at about 4 a.m., Jones, accompanied by his girlfriend and two other men, drove the Suburban to an Exxon gas station at 7150 Torresdale Ave., which the group intended to rob. They planned to wait for the gas station attendant to leave the store to smoke a cigarette, at which point the defendant would approach with his .45-caliber pistol. The two men accompanying Jones would zip-tie the attendant and force him back into the station to open the safe.
When the attendant failed to exit, however, the group sent the defendant’s girlfriend into the store to see what was happening and to determine if the men could kick in the door to the register area. After she reported back, the three men entered the store. Immediately upon entering, Jones pushed his pistol under the protective glass and shot the attendant, Siboram “Pat” Patro, 67, in the back as the attendant tried to run away. Jones and the two men ransacked the store and stole Patro’s wallet, as he lay dying on the floor.
“The defendant shot an unarmed man in the back because it was easier than chasing after him,” Metcalf said. “He and his crew then pawed through the victim’s pockets, as he lay dying. In the face of such senseless violence and casual cruelty, this life sentence is richly deserved. We are all safer with Chihean Jones behind bars.”
“Chihean Jones committed a horrific and cowardly act when he shot and killed an innocent victim simply trying to make a living,” said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division. “In partnership with the Philadelphia Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the ATF Philadelphia Field Division will continue to work tirelessly to ensure justice for the victims and to make our communities safer from dangerous criminals like Jones.”
The case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Parisi and Amanda McCool. ••
