Don’t Let Your Instagram Post Get You Convicted of Armed Carjacking

Saikeen Dixon, who was just convicted of an armed carjacking of a FedEx truck in Philadelphia, as seen in an Instagram photo (court exhibit)

Check phillymag.com each morning Monday through Thursday for the latest edition of Philly Today. And if you have a news tip for our hardworking Philly Mag reporters, please direct it here. You can also use that form to send us reader mail. We love reader mail!

Don’t Let Your Instagram Post Get You Convicted of Armed Carjacking

With the events that have been unfolding in Los Angeles, one local activist’s prediction that Philadelphia could look like Los Angeles in less than two weeks, and then Tuesday’s protest in Philadelphia that at times turned confrontational, it got me thinking about Lore Blumenthal, the Philadelphia protester who, in 2020, firebombed a police car during the civil unrest that followed George Floyd’s murder. Investigators tracked Blumenthal down through video of the firebombing, her Instagram account and a tattoo on her forearm. A judge sentenced Blumenthal to 30 months in prison. Saikeen Dixon should be so lucky.

Dixon, a 32-year-old Philadelphia man, faces a minimum of seven years in federal prison and a maximum of life behind bars after a jury just convicted him of the armed carjacking of a FedEx truck. And it turns out that one of his Instagram posts helped prosecutors in the case against him.

It all goes back to August of 2022, when Dixon and fellow Philadelphian Ronald Byrd learned that a FedEx truck would be carrying a package containing cocaine from an address in California to an address on North Broad Street that turned out to be Temple University Hospital.

A former FedEx employee called and texted the driver of that FedEx truck, asking for this particular package. Then the former FedEx employee turned up at the loading dock at Temple and asked the driver to turn over the package, but the driver said no, even after the former employee offered him $5,000. The FedEx driver called his supervisors, who showed up and took the package from him. He continued on his delivery route.

Shortly thereafter, the driver began to head to the FedEx distribution center in South Philadelphia. And then a Jeep Cherokee, driven by Dixon, pulled in front of the FedEx truck, and Byrd jumped out of the Jeep and pointed a pistol at the FedEx driver, who ran for his life. Byrd got behind the wheel of the FedEx truck and fled the scene, with Dixon following in the Jeep.

The two stopped at 47th and Linmore streets in West Philly, and things didn’t go as planned. Byrd tried to open the back of the FedEx truck but couldn’t quite figure out how to do so. He jumped into the Cherokee, and he and Dixon drove off into the sunset without their precious package, which, keep in mind, wasn’t even in the truck anymore. Womp womp.

Lab tests would later reveal that the contents of the much sought-after package included about nine kilos of cocaine. And a pivotal piece of evidence against Dixon came from his Instagram page. Investigators were able to compare a scar on his arm in the above Instagram photo to a scar seen in surveillance footage from the FedEx truck. All of this to say, kids, your parents are right: be careful what you post on Instagram!

The jury also convicted Byrd, who faces at least 22 years in prison, since he was the one pointing the gun.

Headlines We Didn’t Want to See

From the Daily Mail: “ICE Prepares Full Assault on Five Democrat Cities as LA goes Into Lockdown Amid Immigration Riots.” And because Trump likes to say that “bad things happen in Philadelphia,” yes, we are apparently on that list of cities. This is based on an MSNBC report citing “sources familiar with the planning.” Reminder that Saturday is Trump’s birthday, the military parade he’s throwing himself for his birthday (because how else would one want to spend their birthday other than having tanks roll down the street?), and the resulting nationwide protest known as No Kings Day. Large crowds are expected in Philadelphia.

$15/Hour Minimum Wage for Philadelphia?

The Democrat-controlled House in Harrisburg just managed to pass a new bill that would mandate a $15 minimum wage in Philadelphia beginning on January 1, 2026, while the minimum wage would go up to $12 in some other more populous Pennsylvania counties and $10 in more rural ones. (Minimum wage is currently $7.25 statewide.) The idea is that those other counties would all eventually join Philadelphia with $15 minimum wage via annual bumps. The bill passed 102-101 and has a long way to go before becoming the law. But here’s hoping. As a reminder, Pennsylvania has a lower minimum wage than any state that it borders, some of which have $15 minimums.

Trouble at World Cafe Live

Last week, I received an email from a publicist representing the Philly native who brought the Portal to Philadelphia and who apparently saved World Cafe Live from the brink of closure earlier this year. This was news to me, because I had no idea that World Cafe Live was on the brink of closure. In any event, apparently not everyone is happy with the new leadership, as workers walked out of the venue on Wednesday night and picketed during the Suzanne Vega concert, citing “an unacceptable level of hostility and mismanagement.” Dan DeLuca of the Inquirer has more on this.

By the Numbers

$80 million: Total value of U.S. Treasury checks that some former postal workers from Philly and the burbs are charged with stealing. They allegedly stole them and then offered them for sale across the country on the Telegram app, and then the buyer would cash (or attempt to) cash them.

3 degrees: Amount that Philadelphia’s average summer temperatures have trended upward since 1970, a fact I reveal to you on the hottest day of the year so far. And summer hasn’t even started yet. But meteorologists are predicting a hotter summer than normal for the city. Break out the dumpster pools!

0: Days from Saturday through next Thursday that don’t have rain in the forecast. Yes, Philly is also supposed to have a wetter-than-average summer.

10 a.m.: Time on Thursday that Eagles single-game tickets went on sale. Hopefully there are some left by the time you read this. The season opener is on September 4th at the Linc. Our opponent? Let’s just say you should break out your Dallas Sucks gear.

Local Talent

Do you, like me, have an annoying blank space on your wall that you’ve been trying to figure out how to fill? Get thee to InLiquid’s Art for the Cash Poor, this Saturday at 1400 North American Street. There are all kinds of work by local artists, and nothing is priced over $250. More info (including examples of the works for sale) here.