Police are still piecing together the details of the incident at a busy intersection that wounded two people, including an innocent bystander.
Shattered glass, chalk marks circling shell casings and police standing guard over yellow crime-scene tape were remnants of the chaos that had erupted Monday afternoon at Broad and Tasker streets.
Two people were wounded in the wild shooting, including a 19-year-old male who police said was the intended target.
While detectives Bob Liss and Bob Conn from South Detectives were trying to make sense of a crime scene that spanned blocks, inconvenienced motorists were forced to take detours and sit in traffic at the height of rush hour.
It all started around 3:30 p.m. when a man standing on the northwest corner of Broad near Tasker fired five to six shots at a dark-colored auto stopped in traffic, said Liss.
In an attempt to escape the ambush, that vehicle plowed into about four other cars — pushing them out of the way — as it continued south on Broad Street, Liss said.
Investigators could not say for certain whether any occupants of the targeted car might have returned fire, and the original shooter remains at large.
One of the stray bullets struck a woman in her back as she was entering Philadelphia Gas Works on the southeast corner of Broad and Tasker, the detective said.
Jean DiLeonardo, 43, from the 1000 block of Fernon Street, was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where she was treated for a graze wound and released, said Inspector Bill Colarulo of the Police Public Affairs Unit.
The second victim told detectives he was walking down Broad Street when he heard gunshots and was struck in the chest, Liss said.
That victim was identified as Rayvine Hadley, 19, from the 1900 block of South 23rd Street, and was taken to St. Agnes Medical Center in stable condition, police said.
A police source said Hadley might have been in the targeted auto and not walking down Broad as he said.
"We believe [Hadley] was the intended target and Jean DiLeonardo was an innocent bystander," said Colarulo.
Meanwhile, amid the frightening confusion, a white Cadillac Escalade crashed into the Sunoco gas station at 17th Street and Snyder Avenue.
Police sources told the Review that the female driver of that vehicle was probably driving Hadley to the hospital when she lost control and crashed. The driver was treated and released from St. Agnes, the source added.
To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
Shooting victim critical
A single gunshot blast to the back of the head left a young man in critical condition Monday afternoon at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, police said.
The 21-year-old victim was gunned down around 5 p.m. inside a white Chevy Corsica at 26th and Tasker streets, said Sgt. Tim Cooney of South Detective Division.
Investigators recovered the car and ballistics evidence at the scene, the sergeant added.
Earlier this week, police were still searching for the shooter and a motive. To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
Arrest in carjacking
A man who allegedly carjacked a woman’s Subaru Outback didn’t get very far.
Police arrested a suspect a block away shortly after Saturday’s 10:15 p.m. incident, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives.
The 27-year-old victim had just parked on the 1300 block of Bainbridge Street when the offender walked up to her and demanded the station wagon, the sergeant said.
Too frightened to fend off the culprit, the victim got out of her car and fled.
Johny Crump, 45, from the 1200 block of South Peach Street, was charged with robbery, carjacking, theft and receiving stolen property.
Cab driver robbed
Two men hailed a cab and robbed the driver at gunpoint before fleeing on foot last Thursday night.
The incident happened at 8:30 p.m. on the 2400 block of Titan Street, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives.
A 48-year-old driver for Crescent Cab Company told police the perpetrators asked to be driven to several locations. After settling on Titan Street, the culprits produced a black semiautomatic handgun and demanded money, the sergeant said. The robbers made off with $180 and the victim’s cell phone.
To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
Merlino on trial for murder
Spectators at the federal trial of Joey Merlino — which continues this week in Newark, N.J. — are getting an up-close look at the rules that govern organized crime.
For example, if a mob boss decides he’s been disrespected, that’s enough to order a hit on whoever committed the supposed transgression, according to prosecutors.
Mob turncoats Peter "Pete the Crumb" Caprio and Ralph Natale are the government’s star witnesses. On Monday, Caprio testified that Merlino ordered a hit on Joseph Sodano, 59, in 1996 because he failed to show the proper respect to then-Philadelphia underboss Merlino and then-boss Natale, according to a U.S. District Court spokesperson.
According to Caprio, the victim also had neglected to send the bosses enough money from his mob earnings as a capo, or captain, in the Newark branch of the Philadelphia crime family.
Sodano was found with two gunshot blasts to the head, slumped behind the wheel of his vehicle in a Newark parking lot.
Like Caprio, Natale also is cooperating with authorities and is expected to testify.
A Philadelphia jury acquitted Merlino of Sodano’s gangland-style slaying in 2001. The Jersey trial, which began Monday, is expected to last four to six weeks. If convicted, Merlino faces life in prison. The defendant already is serving a 14-year sentence for a 2001 racketeering conviction. SPR
Mom of two found strangled
The nude body of Charisse Eschert was discovered last Thursday with three tattoos and a host of unanswered questions.
Eschert, 28, was found around 7 a.m., sprawled out in the snow — apparently strangled and beaten to death — on the edge of Holmesburg Avenue near Pennypack Park, police said.
Investigators have no leads in the case, although they believe that Eschert, of the 800 block of Pierce Street, was probably murdered elsewhere and later dumped near the park.
"From what we could discern, that seems like the most likely scenario so far," said Homicide Capt. Richard Ross. "There were no footprints or tracks in the snow leading up to her body, so we believe she may have been thrown from a car."
Police described the area where Eschert was found as quiet and wooded.
"There are some horse stables and small businesses near there, but it’s more of a removed area. Whoever did this may have thought it was a good place to leave a body," said Sgt. George Gianfortune of the Eighth District in the Northeast.
Eschert, who lived with her grandmother and two children, had serious troubles that were revealed by a police record and a pair of upcoming court dates.
The young woman was scheduled for trial on prostitution charges Feb. 12 and for drug offenses Feb. 18, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Still, one neighbor described Eschert as a good mother who loved her 8- and 10-year-old sons, while another said she was shocked by the tragic news.
"She seemed like a nice lady … I was surprised and saddened to hear that she had passed away," she said.
–by David Gambacorta
