16 Phila. men accused in home-invasion robberies

More than a dozen Philadelphia men have been charged in a series of home-invasion robberies in Philadelphia and its suburbs over a year and a half.

In a federal indictment unsealed Thursday, prosecutors describe an increasingly violent series of crimes. It started with an armed robbery of an Ambler home in which the victims were tied up and ended with the burglarizing of a home in which the victims were forced to strip and were waterboarded, and another burglary in which one of the victims was shot.

The crimes occurred between September 2012 and April 2014, prosecutors said.

Thirteen of the 16 men accused of the crimes are in custody. They were identified as Khalil Smith, 32; Mark Woods, 46; Marcus Bowen, 24; Michael Queen, 28; Terrance Munden, 46; Robert Hartley, 43; Levern Jackson, 45; William Jefferson, 26; Daniel Hayes, 26; Jamal Doggett, 35; Jeffrey Bellamy, 43; Romel Anthony, 42; and Eric Scott, 24.

Authorities are searching for three defendants: Brandon Segers, 27; Hasan Chaney, 26; and Braheim Ballard, 36.

Smith is the only one of the 16 to be charged with all 17 counts in the indictment, including drug possession and intent to sell, use of illegal firearms, and carjacking.

Officials with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, who led the investigation, said the burglars targeted victims who they believed were drug dealers, though in some cases they were wrong. The men used wigs, makeup, and parts of police uniforms to disguise themselves.

"They were disguised, prepared, and organized," Kelly Brady, acting special agent in charge for the ATF in Philadelphia, said Thursday.

In the first robbery, on Sept. 3, 2012, Scott is accused of having told Smith and Jefferson that they could rob the Ambler home where he was attending a gathering. When Smith and Jefferson showed up in masks and armed with guns, Scott pretended to be a victim, according to the indictment. Jefferson and Smith tied up the victims and stole jewelry, cash, and cocaine, the indictment says.

In a 2013 robbery, Smith and Queen are accused of attaching a GPS tracking device to the vehicle driven by their targeted victim. When the victim arrived at his Hatfield home, Smith, Bowen, Queen, Doggett, and Ballard stole guns, electronics, and the victim's BMW, according to the indictment.

In 2014, eight of the defendants are accused of forcing two people to strip in their Philadelphia home while the men robbed them of their jewelry and iPad and a 2009 Toyota Camry. The men are accused of waterboarding and pouring hot water on one of the victims. Both victims were threatened with sexual assault.

All 16 men face mandatory minimum sentences of at least 10 years if convicted. Most face mandatory minimums of more than 30 years.