Tyrik Upchurch led the 27th and Dickinson Street gang that often clashed with rival drug and street gangs in the area.

Tyrik Upchurch, 22, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and possession of an instrument of crime on what was to have been the first day of his trial in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court.Judge Sandy L.V. Byrd accepted the plea deal and immediately sentenced Upchurch in the Oct. 14, 2007 shooting of Jujuan Hinton, 27.
Assistant District Attorney Thomas Lipscomb told the judge that Hinton was in a hack cab in the 2800 block of Wharton Street when Upchurch walked up and fired six shots, hitting Hinton five times.Hinton survived and, in a hospital interview, identified Upchurch as his shooter, Lipscomb said. However, Hinton later recanted and said he did not know why he was targeted.Upchurch's new sentence will run concurrently with a five- to 10-year term begun in 2008 after he was convicted in another gang-related shootout on March 25, 2007. In that incident, two girls ages 9 and 12 were wounded in cross fire in the 1400 block of South Etting Street.The jury acquitted Upchurch of involvement in the shooting but convicted him of witness intimidation, Lipscomb said.Defense attorney S. Philip Steinberg told the judge Upchurch was sorry for the Hinton shooting and was taking prison classes to improve himself.
Upchurch thanked the prosecutor for "letting me move on."
Police said Upchurch led the 27th and Dickinson Street gang that often clashed with rival drug and street gangs in the area.

Upchurch's younger brother, Malik, 15, was shot and killed in 2004 when he was confronted by three men as he rode his bicycle at 28th and Wharton Streets.

"You're too young to give up on," Byrd told Upchurch. "To date, the evidence says you've been running around shooting people and intimidating people. That's not being a man. Being a man is working at a job and supporting your family."

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