The driver was drunk when he hit South Philly resident Derrick Lynn Montgomery’s car in North Philly last Thursday, police said.
A drunken driver had a deadly collision with a local man and his girlfriend when he ran a red light in the Fairhill section of North Philly, police said.
Derrick Lynn Montgomery, 45, of Seventh Street and Snyder Avenue, was pronounced dead at the scene; Florence Paige, 47, of the 1300 block of East Susquehanna Avenue, died at Temple University Hospital a half-hour later, said Sgt. George Golden of the Accident Investigation Division.
Montgomery’s brother told the Review that Derrick was driving his girlfriend home when the accident occurred last Thursday at 9:30 p.m.
David Alameda, 27, of the 100 block of West Raymond Place, was traveling north on Fifth Street in a 1994 Honda when he ran a red light at Susquehanna Avenue and slammed into Montgomery, who was driving west on the avenue in a 1989 Plymouth, Golden said.
Alameda was admitted to Temple Hospital with head injuries, said the sergeant.
He was charged with two counts of homicide by vehicle, two counts of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, two counts of involuntary manslaughter and related offenses.
A viewing for Montgomery will be held tomorrow, 10-11 a.m., at Mitchum-Wilson Funeral Home, 1410 S. 20th St. Burial will follow at Mount Lawn Cemetery.
Not target, but shot anyway
Two men resorted to gunfire to settle a score with another male outside his home on the 2700 block of Tree Terrace Monday afternoon. But the intended target’s girlfriend ended up taking a bullet instead when the pair opened fire, police said.
The offenders showed up around 2 p.m. and knocked on the front door, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives. After the victim’s boyfriend answered the door, the three started arguing and the boyfriend slammed the door on the pair, the sergeant said.
The culprits drew their pistols and squeezed off a total of six rounds that struck the front door and window, Biello said.
The girlfriend, 22, was inside and took a bullet in her left leg. She was admitted to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in good condition.
The victim’s sister and children, who also were inside the residence, escaped harm.
No arrests had been made as of Tuesday.
Arrest in violent holdup
Police arrested one of two men who allegedly attacked another man on Jan. 21.
The partners in crime grabbed the 33-year-old victim at 1 a.m. on the 1400 block of South Seventh Street, threw him to the ground and beat him, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives. Then they robbed the victim’s wallet, cell phone, passport, house keys, credit cards and ID.
Officers stopped a man in the vicinity shortly thereafter, and the victim identified him as one of his attackers, Biello said.
Paul Davis, 44, of the 1400 block of South Fifth Street, was charged with robbery, theft, aggravated assault and related offenses.
Honors for officers, detectives
In a Jan. 21 ceremony at Fraternal Order of Police headquarters, 69 city officers and detectives were honored for outstanding arrests made in 2003. Some awards went to recipients who live in South Philly but do not work here — among them, Special Victims Unit Detective Carl Latorre.
Four detectives from South Detective Division were honored: Nancy Morley, Timothy Fitzgerald, Lawrence McKnight and William McCusker. SPR
South Philly man gets life
With all its salacious details, the trial had the trappings of a TV movie: The South Philly boyfriend of a prostitute was charged with the murder of his girlfriend’s "john" during a botched robbery at the victim’s Richboro home.
Last Thursday, Thomas Simone, 20, from the 1000 block of McKean Street, faced the possibility of life in prison or the death penalty if convicted of Paul Kallus’ murder.
The next day, a Bucks County jury reached its decision and sentenced Simone to life for the second-degree murder of the 72-year-old, said prosecutor Michelle Henry.
In addition to the life sentence for murder, the jury sentenced Simone to 10-20 years for robbery, burglary, theft and criminal conspiracy to commit burglary and theft, the prosecutor added. The 10-20 year sentence runs concurrently with the life sentence.
"I think justice was done," Henry said.
Simone admitted he shot Kallus on Feb. 28, 2003, but claimed it was an accident, said Henry. The victim died of a bullet to the chest fired from his own gun as he tried to fight off Simone and Dawn D’Alonzo, 28, during a robbery attempt. The prosecution contended that Simone shot a defenseless Kallus because he was enraged by the victim’s resistance and the fact that Kallus had taken nude photos of his girlfriend on a previous visit.
According to the defense, the couple arrived at Kallus’ home to demand D’Alonzo’s $200 fee up-front and then leave; murder was not on the agenda.
D’Alonzo pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and testified against Simone, along with her cousin Paul Miller, 29, who drove the couple to Kallus’ home and was inside when the incident occurred.
Outraged by his son’s sentence and what he perceived as a gross miscarriage of justice, Thomas Simone Sr. contacted the Review hours after the verdict.
"They never gave him the option of pleading to third-degree murder. They never gave that kid a chance from day one," Simone said.
In Simone’s opinion, what happened to his son is an example of how Bucks County "railroads" defendants from Philadelphia.
"A 20-year-old does not get life. If that had happened down here, he would have gotten 10-15 years," he said.
The defendant’s father said he cannot understand why his son was charged with second-degree murder in the first place. Thomas Jr. had no prior criminal record and it was Kallus who had the gun — not his son, Simone said. "A guy who has never been in trouble — why would you give him life?"
According to Simone, his son is a "good kid" who just got caught up in a bad crowd. He alleged that D’Alonzo raped his son — then 14 — the day she met him at a party thrown by an employee of Simone’s.
Simone said he tried to file charges through the District Attorney’s Office but was told the victim had to come forward and report the crime. Thomas Jr. refused, and the couple instead became an item, according to the father.
"She’s tortured my family for years," Simone said.
