John Gassew, 23, Beats 44 Arrests for Armed Robbery and Other Crimes in Philadelphia Court System Until Latest Case

It is unconscionable that John Gassew, 23, of Frankford, Pa., was able to beat 44 arrests for armed robbery and other crimes in the Philadelphia court system until now. This is a disgrace and epitomizes the myriad of failings of the Philadelphia court system and the criminals it has allowed to still roam the streets. John Gassew was stopped in his tracks after the federal government decided to intervene or else it is quite possible he would have been let back out on the streets by the state court system.

Gassew has been charged by federal prosecutors Friday with robbery and gun violations stemming from an October 28th robbery of a 7-Eleven store in which Philadelphia police said he brutally beat the store clerk with a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol. Gassew was reportedly shot in the arm by police within minutes of the robbery, when he smashed a stolen truck into a tree and fled. He was arrested Friday morning in the infirmary of Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, where he was being held on state charges that he robbed four convenience stores in Philadelphia in August and October.

It is unclear why the federal prosecutors only charged him with one of those robberies and according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, during the initial hearing in federal court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ed Zittau declined to state why this case was selected.

Here is a synopsis of John Gassew's life of crime and the broken court system in Philadelphia, as told by a journalist at the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Of the more than 20 robberies he has allegedly committed, he has never been convicted. In the case involving his alleged weekend robbery spree, all but one of the 21 cases was dropped after witnesses failed to appear in court. Gassew has only been convicted one time, for a drug charge. Gassew's federal defender, Ross Thompson, who was assigned to the case yesterday, declined to comment. The Inquirer series found that Gassew was a typical defendant in a system where nearly two-thirds of those charged with violent crimes escaped conviction on all counts.

Despite having the highest violent crime rate among major American cities, The Inquirer found, Philadelphia had the lowest conviction rate for violent crime. Selective in the cases they bring, federal prosecutors choose those they were likely to win and notched a 95 percent conviction rate. Tough federal sentencing laws routinely lead to prison terms of 20 years or longer.

Federal prosecutors have used the Hobbs Act to go after robbers who hit gas stations, convenience stores, and other businesses that they can show are involved in interstate commerce. In the case of Gassew, prosecutors charged him with violating the Hobbs Act and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence. Federal law mandates a minimum of seven years behind bars for first-time offenders and 25 years for repeat offenders - on top of whatever sentence they receive for the underlying crime. The maximum penalty for both crimes Gassew has been charged with is life imprisonment. Gassew is one of about 2,000 defendants in the city court system whom federal prosecutors have filed firearms and robbery charges against since 2001.

It is quite obvious that John Gassew is a public menace, who should be incarcerated for the rest of his life. It is also a low-down dirty disgrace that he beat 44 arrests and was still out on the streets, until his last robbery. I just can't understand why so many court systems across this country are in a state of disarray and we call ourselves the leader of the free world. We can't keep repeat offenders off the streets. They keep getting let out to re-offend and wreak havoc on innocent people.

Photo credit: John Gassew, Philadelphia Inquirer