Niyaz Burgess
Introduction
Niyaz Burgess, 20, of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on 22 October 2026 before U.S. District Judge Kai N. Scott to carjacking and to using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, for a 2024 attack in which he shot a man three times and drove off in his vehicle. The plea, entered nearly 15 months after his indictment, leaves Burgess facing a mandatory minimum of ten years in prison and a possible life sentence at his February 2027 sentencing.
Background Information
Burgess was charged by indictment in August 2025 for the events of 14 July 2024, when, shortly before three in the morning, he carjacked and shot a man on the 6600 block of Limekiln Pike in Philadelphia and drove away in the victim’s vehicle. The victim was struck by two gunshot wounds to the abdomen and one to the arm, resulting in significant internal injuries. The case was investigated by the FBI Philadelphia Violent Crimes Task Force and the Philadelphia Police Department, with assistance from the Pennsylvania State Police.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Pleaded guilty. Burgess admitted before Judge Scott to carjacking and to discharging a firearm during a crime of violence; he has not yet been sentenced and the charges carry a 10-year mandatory minimum.
The break in the case came the following morning: around 4:30 a.m. on 15 July 2024, Pennsylvania State Troopers found the victim’s crashed and abandoned car on I-95 South in Tinicum Township, secured the vehicle, and transferred it to Philadelphia Police custody. Forensic testing subsequently revealed Burgess’s fingerprints and palm print on the stolen vehicle — the physical evidence that tied the 20-year-old to the shooting and carjacking and led to his guilty plea.
Public Reaction and Consequences
Burgess is scheduled to be sentenced on 15 February 2027, where he faces a maximum possible term of life imprisonment, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $500,000, anchored by the mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison that attaches to firing a gun during a violent crime. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sandra Urban of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Current Status
Burgess is in federal custody awaiting his February 2027 sentencing on the two counts to which he pleaded guilty. The guilty plea resolves the question of his responsibility for the Limekiln Pike shooting and carjacking; what remains for Judge Scott is the sentencing calculation — where the discharge count’s mandatory minimum and the carjacking’s life-eligible maximum frame how long a 20-year-old who shot a man three times for his car will remain imprisoned.
Impact on Their Career/Life
Burgess was 18 when he committed the carjacking and 20 at his plea; by the time he is sentenced he will have spent his entire adult life so far in the criminal justice system, and the 10-year mandatory minimum guarantees he will not be free until his thirties at the earliest. The victim of the July 2024 attack survived his wounds, and the fingerprints Burgess left on the stolen car became the record his plea formally admitted.
Sources
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, “Montco Man, 20, Pleads Guilty to 2024 Carjacking in Which He Shot and Seriously Wounded the Victim” — source