One of the defendant's two accomplices remains on the lam from police for the February 2023 incident.
A Philadelphia woman who was the ringleader and mastermind behind a kidnapping, assault, and robbery of a wealthy Ambler woman last winter is headed to state prison for 13 to 45 years, sentenced by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Risa Vetri Ferman on Thursday.
Baheejah H. Alwan, 43, of the 2500 block of North Sydenham Street, pleaded guilty, per court records, to charges of kidnapping, burglary, robbery, and conspiracy to commit burglary for a Feb. 19, 2023 incident at the Crossings at Ambler Station apartment complex.
Alwan must also repay $20,000 in restitution to the victim.
“You have ruined my life,” the victim told Alwan at her sentencing, according to The Mercury. “You tortured me, you kidnapped me. I did nothing to you to deserve this. I will get better and learn how to deal with this trauma with help.”
Alwan apologized for her crimes, saying she needed help and asked to be forgiven for all her sins, per the article.
“Give me another chance. I don’t want to die in jail,” Alwan said.
“To the person you hurt,” said Ferman, “not a word. You ask this court for mercy. Where was your mercy for the victim?”
Alwan begged to go home, per the report, as she was led away to begin her sentence immediately.
One of Alwan’s accomplices, Semaj Dawkins, 21, of Osceola Street, Philadelphia, was sentenced to three to six years in prison for his part in the crime.
The other accomplice, Deonte Nasir Davis, 27, remains on the loose. Police allege Davis not only had the gun used in the Ambler robbery, but he also committed aggravated indecent assault with the victim.
According to The Mercury, the incident began as a home invasion at the victim’s apartment on South Maple Street and ended at a Philadelphia home where Alwan and two men held the woman against her will for 24 hours and planned to keep her for a ransom.
In the report, Assistant District Attorney Karla Pisarcik said Alwan targeted the victim due to her vulnerability with drug addiction.
“She already was someone who was vulnerable and suffering from substance use disorder when the defendant met her and the defendant just took advantage of that,” she said in The Mercury. “The protection of the public cannot be understated in this case.”
“She was the mastermind … who personally knew the victim … and knew she was a drug addict,” she said.
According to police, Alwan was the victim’s drug dealer and knew of her wealthy family background. At 11:25 p.m. on Feb. 19, 2023, per the report, Alwan came to the victim’s apartment with two men, one whom had a gun and pointed it at the victim’s head, as her apartment was ransacked for nearly an hour.
The victim’s feet and hands were bound with duct tape, courtesy of Alwan, who also taped the victim’s mouth, per the report.
Meanwhile, the thieves took the victim’s computers, designer handbags, shoes and jewelry, value at $20,000, police said.
The crime at the Ambler apartment was captured on video surveillance.
Per the report, the kidnappers then tried to access the victim’s bank accounts unsuccessfully and the victim also refused to endorse checks.
Then, Alwan and her accomplices had a novel idea – get the victim’s mother or ex-husband to ransom the victim for $250,000, according to the report.
The only problem was, Alwan and her associates needed more information from the victim to manipulate the bank accounts, police said.
Thus, Alwan and an unidentified man took an Uber back to the victim’s apartment, police said. There, the man exited the car, and the victim told the Uber driver to speed away.
The driver did, and the victim escaped and called police.
Ferman praised the victim’s bravery and courage at the sentencing.
