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In what Homicide Detectives are calling a case of justifiable murder, two men gunned down two teens who they believed were trying to rob them in Kingsessing Sunday.
The victims, 33 and 38, were walking on the 5200 block of Florence Avenue at about 1:15 a.m. when two armed males approached and announced a stickup, Officer Jill Russell of the Police Public Affairs Unit said.
The victims pulled firearms and unloaded shots into the 17-year-old alleged perpetrators — killing one with bullets to his chest and wounding the other with a couple of shots to the left arm. One died at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania at 1:53 a.m., while the other was in critical but stable condition at press time.
The survivor was charged with robbery and firearms violations. Because both are minors, police are not releasing their names.
Guilty of attempted murder
After more than five hours of deliberation, a jury found a 24-year-old guilty of attempted murder, aggravated assault, robbery, conspiracy and two counts of firearms violations for the June 18, 2007, shooting of an Inquirer newspaper driver. The verdict against Dante Robinson, of the 6300 block of Bittern Place, was delivered Monday, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Robinson and an accomplice robbed the 37-year-old then shot him once in the back of the neck at about 3:50 a.m. as he was making a delivery at 64th Street and Buist Avenue. Armed with a silver handgun, the defendant pointed it at the man’s stomach and demanded money. Apparently unsatisfied with the $15 he was given, the gunman demanded more cash. As the victim made a run for his truck, he heard a gunshot ring out and realized he was hit.
The East Falls resident was treated and released from HUP.
Robinson will be sentenced Dec. 4, but his accomplice remains at large since the victim did not get a good enough look at him to provide police with a description.
One wounded in double shooting
A verbal altercation between two cousins and a couple of other males resulted in one of the relations taking a bullet at 54th Street and Woodland Avenue.
When the victims, 20 and 21, started to walk away, an offender turned and fired several rounds in their direction, grazing the older male in the left leg. The perpetrators fled on foot, going east on Woodland, after the 12:13 a.m. Saturday incident. The injured male did not seek hospital care and the younger escaped harm.
The shooter and his accomplice were described as black, about age 18; one was about 6 foot, 150 pounds and wearing a green hoody and dark pants, while the other was about 5-foot-2, 160 pounds and wearing a dark hoody and dark pants.
To report information, call Southwest Detective Division at 215-686-3183.
Busted
Marijuana and second-graders aren’t normally synonymous, so when a student brought a bag of weed to show his friends at Harrington Avery D. School, 53rd Street and Baltimore Avenue, a teacher promptly confiscated the stash.
A student who saw the pot Monday notified a teacher and police were called, according to a report.
A search of the child’s home on the 5400 block of Warrington Avenue turned up more marijuana and crack cocaine, police said. The boy’s father, Lamar Anderson, 28, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and narcotics offenses.
Chain reaction
A man who fought back as two robbers tried to rip a gold chain from his neck wound up shot at but not struck.
The teens approached the 31-year-old as he was walking at 63rd Street and Buist Avenue at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday. After pulling a gun, one reached for the jewelry, but the victim successfully fended him off and ran, only to be shot at three times.
The perpetrators walked away empty-handed.
To report information, call Southwest Detectives at 215-686-3183.
Deliverymen robbed
Three males held up two Pete’s Pizza deliverymen Saturday and made off with $180 and their car keys — but left the wheels.
The victims were delivering eats to a house on the 7300 block of Bunting Place at about 1:30 a.m. when the offenders ran up and pointed handguns at them, demanding money, a report said. The 38-year-old victim surrendered $130, while the other man for whom police did not have an age gave up $50.
To report information, call Southwest Detectives at 215-686-3183.
Masked bandit strikes
A disguised man produced a handgun and robbed another of cash, keys and his vehicle as the victim was walking out of a residence on the 7700 block of Lindbergh Boulevard to retrieve belongings from his automobile.
After issuing an order for the 28-year-old to clean out his pockets at about noon Saturday, the victim gave the perpetrator his keys and an unknown amount of cash. The offender fled in an unknown direction in the victim’s blue 2003 Land Rover valued at about $15,000.
The thief was described as about 5-foot-10 and wearing dark clothing and a dark mask.
To report information, call Southwest Detectives at 215-686-3183.
Got a police item? Contact Staff Writer Lorraine Gennaro at lgennaro@southphillyreview.com or 215-336-2500 ext. 124.
