HARRISBURG—Attorney General Michelle Henry today announced that Keith Phillips was convicted of first-degree murder for the 2019 shooting death of Nasir Sadat on a North Philadelphia street outside a property that the victim was renovating.
A Philadelphia County jury found Phillips, 31, guilty of first-degree murder for killing Sadat.
Phillips was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, as well as an aggregate sentence on the additional charges of 17 ½ to 35 years of incarceration to run consecutively.
“We commend the jury for their attention and consideration of all the evidence which led to the only possible conclusion: Keith Phillips is a cold-blooded killer, ” Attorney General Henry said. “The evidence presented at trial showed that Phillips shot and killed Sadat for hire. I am proud of the hard work of our investigators and prosecutors, and our law enforcement partners, which today ensured that this very dangerous individual will be off the streets of Philadelphia and the citizens will be safe from him.”
Video evidence presented at trial showed that, on July 5, 2019, Phillips arrived at a location in North Philadelphia not far from where Sadat and the other man were wounded and fled the shooting scene on a bike while holding a gun in his hand. Cellphone evidence also confirmed Phillips was at the scene of the shooting.
The wounded men were both transported to Temple University Hospital, where Sadat was pronounced dead.
Phillips told investigators that he was paid $4,500 by a local drug dealer to kill Sadat. After the shootings, Phillips messaged a friend on Instagram that he “just drilled” someone. He had previously posted that he is a “killer” and bragged about killing up to twenty people on that account. Investigators also used Phillips’ social media account to confirm the clothes he was wearing in the video at the time of the shootings.
This case was prosecuted by Chief Deputy Attorney General Tracie Gaydos.
Phillips is currently awaiting trial for the murders of three other Philadelphia men.
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