An argument triggered the gunfire that also wounded the victim’s 19-year-old girlfriend and an innocent bystander, police said.
Homicide detectives have issued an arrest warrant for the alleged triggerman in a shooting that killed one and injured two others.
An argument sparked Sunday night’s gunfire on the 2100 block of South Sixth Street, said Lt. Joe Maum of the Homicide Division.
Perry Brewington, 22, of the 2100 block of South Sixth Street, was pronounced dead around 7:20 p.m. from multiple gunshot wounds, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detective Division.
The victim’s 19-year-old girlfriend was shot in the stomach and taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in critical condition, said Maum.
A 17-year-old male who was walking down the block at the time of the shooting suffered a bullet wound to his left thigh and was taken to Methodist Hospital by private auto, the lieutenant added.
Fatal stabbing in bar
A 20-year-old man was fatally knifed in the neck Sunday, allegedly by a male with whom he had previously been arguing inside a bar at 1638 Wolf St., police said.
Joseph Briglia, 20, from the 2000 block of Shunk Street, was pronounced dead at Jefferson University Hospital 45 minutes after the 10:45 p.m. attack, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives.
Jason McMaster, 32, of the 2000 block of Emily Street, was arrested and charged with Briglia’s murder, the sergeant said. First District officers nabbed the suspect shortly after the stabbing on the 2100 block of McKean Street, added Lt. Joe Maum of the Homicide Division.
Witnesses at the Wolf Street Café told police the two men were feuding during the Cowboys and Patriots game. Then McMaster left the bar, only to return with a knife and allegedly plunge it into Briglia’s neck, said Maum.
Mom’s ex-boyfriend to be questioned in teen’s death
The ex-boyfriend of the mother of Jasmine McDonald — the West Philadelphia teen found stabbed to death after disappearing Nov. 12 — was arrested in South Philly Tuesday night on an unrelated matter, police said.
Michael Peter Cook, 29, was wanted on an outstanding domestic abuse warrant, said Lt. Joe Maum of the Homicide Division.
When homicide detectives arrived at a home on the 1600 block of South 21st Street to serve the warrant, Cook allegedly assaulted one of the detectives, officials said. The victim suffered a large laceration to his hand from what police believed to be a screwdriver.
Homicide detectives had planned to question Cook in McDonald’s stabbing death, Maum said. As of yesterday, the suspect had not been charged with the 13-year-old’s slaying, the lieutenant added.
In addition to charges stemming from the abuse warrant, Cook is charged with assaulting a police officer and related offenses.
Spray of bullets wounds two
Two males were critically wounded in a hail of gunfire Tuesday night on the 1500 block of Stanley Street, police said.
Detectives recovered 16 casings and a loaded .45-caliber handgun after the 7 p.m. shooting, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives.
Both victims were rushed into surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, the sergeant said.
Seventeenth District police found the men — a 30-year-old laying on the sidewalk and a 26-year-old inside the doorway of a home. Both suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the torso and neck, investigators said.
To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
Pals shot in parked car
Investigators continue to search for the shooter who opened fire on two men while they sat inside a white Pontiac.
The incident happened Sunday around 2:30 p.m. on the 1800 block of Reed Street, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives.
A 35-year-old took a bullet to his right leg, while his 27-year-old friend was shot in his groin and chest, the sergeant said. Both victims were taken to Jefferson University Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition.
To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
Narcotics suspect arrested
A narcotics surveillance operation last week ended with an officer firing one round and a suspect being locked up.
Omar Robinson, 19, of the 1800 block of South Taylor Street, was charged with aggravated and simple assault, weapons violations and possession with intent to deliver, said Capt. Dave Testa of Narcotics Field Unit South.
Officers from the captain’s unit spotted the armed suspect on the 1800 block of South 24th Street at 4 p.m. on Nov. 12, said Inspector Bill Colarulo of the Police Public Affairs Unit.
When officers tried to nab Robinson, he fled with police giving chase, Testa said.
During the pursuit, Robinson allegedly whipped out a handgun and aimed it at police, the captain said. In the ensuing struggle, one of the officers accidentally discharged his weapon, Colarulo said.
There were no injuries to police or the suspect.
Investigators confiscated a bulletproof vest Robinson was wearing, a loaded 9 mm Smith and Wesson and $700 worth of crack cocaine, Testa said.
Assault on police
A 22-year-old was arrested and charged with a slew of offenses after he allegedly assaulted two plainclothes police officers early Friday, police said.
Robert Cooper, 22, of the 2000 block of South Cecil Street, was charged with aggravated and simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, conspiracy and narcotics violations, said Inspector Bill Colarulo of the Police Public Affairs Unit.
The officers were in an unmarked vehicle at 16th and Fitzwater streets when they spotted Cooper and another male in an alley, the inspector said.
One of the officers exited the car to check things out, at which time one of the males approached and offered to sell him narcotics, Colarulo said.
Cooper allegedly punched one of the officers in the face, and when his partner came to assist, the suspect allegedly punched, kicked and tried to bite him, according to police.
During the struggle, the second officer’s eyeglasses were shattered, the inspector said.
Uniformed officers, called in for backup, arrested Cooper and confiscated two bags of crack cocaine from him and another eight bags that he allegedly threw to the ground, said Colarulo.
There were no injuries to police, but Cooper was treated at Graduate Hospital for scrapes suffered during the struggle.
Robbed walking to church
An 80-year-old woman was mugged on her way to 5 p.m. Mass Saturday at Stella Maris Church, police said.
A male on a bicycle riding up behind the victim knocked her to the ground on the 2500 block of South Darien Street, said Inspector Bill Colarulo of the Police Public Affairs Unit.
The culprit made off down Darien toward Bigler Street with the victim’s black handbag containing ID, a SEPTA transpass, keys, $20 and a $10 check made out to the church, the inspector said.
To report information, call South Detective Division at 215-686-3013.
Missing woman found
Last week, the Review reported that local resident Kathleen Lombardo, who is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, had been missing since Nov. 3.
On Monday, Lombardo’s daughter Kay received information that her mom was staying at a family member’s vacant home on the 1200 block of Ritner Street, said Sgt. Tim Cooney of South Detectives.
The sergeant met Kay at the home and took Lombardo to a hospital for psychiatric and medical treatment.
Second murder witness slain
Despite investigators’ claims that the death of a second witness in a prominent South Philly murder trial was not linked to the case, one thing’s for sure: Somebody keeps offing people set to testify for the prosecution. Jury selection in the Veronica Rios murder trial begins Monday.
Joseph Mulhern, 20, was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound to the chest at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital around 11:25 p.m. Sunday, said Lt. Joe Maum of the Homicide Division. His 17-year-old friend was shot in the right leg, the lieutenant added. Both Mulhern and the other victim lived near the scene of the shooting on the 500 block of Sigel Street, Maum said.
Maum said the shooting was drug-related and Mulhern was arguing with two males before he was shot. The pair then summoned a third man to gun down the victim, the lieutenant said.
The first witness to be slain was Diana Meirino, 22, who police said was killed two years ago to keep from testifying.
On August 16, 2001, Rios, 15, collapsed in a pool of her own blood at Fifth and Pierce streets after being shot in the neck. Authorities would later learn that the shooters were aiming for an 18-year-old male standing next to her.
The three charged in Rios’ death are Steve Hendon, 26, from the 1800 block of McClellan Street; Fareeq Smith, 25, from Spring Garden Street; and Felix Summers, 23, from the 1700 block of South Fourth Street.
A witness told police that he saw two men wearing ski masks — who matched the builds of Summers and Smith — jump out of a car, allegedly driven by Hendon, and spray Rios and five of her friends with a barrage of bullets, said officials.
In an interview last year, Rios’ mother Valencia said the suspects knew Veronica and her friends because they all grew up together in the neighborhood.
Summers, who was among the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted before his capture, is also charged with the March 1999 shooting death of 39-year-old Charlotte Presley, an eyewitness against him in the January 1999 killing of 19-year-old James Niles, said officials. With Presley out of the picture, Summers was acquitted of Niles’ murder. Police had believed that Presley’s shooting led to Meirino’s death.
Police arrested Summers’ cousin, Alvin Lawrence, 23, and charged him with shooting Meirino on Sept. 24, 2001, because she was with Summers when Presley was killed. Speculation in the neighborhood was that Meirino also was a target because she witnessed Rios’ slaying.
But a judge dismissed the charges against Lawrence last year, according to court records. The suspect is currently serving a three- to eight-year sentence for drugs in a state correctional facility, said Pennsylvania Department of Corrections spokesperson Sue McNaughton.
