Homicide detectives are on a manhunt for two suspects who stabbed an alleged drug dealer to death inside his second-floor apartment Monday.
Large quantities of marijuana and pills were found inside the dwelling of Anthony DiMatteo, 19, from the 1400 block of Porter Street, Homicide Sgt. Tim Cooney told the Review.
Witnesses told police they saw two males running from the scene, going north on the 2400 block of Carlisle Street toward Ritner, at about 2:30 p.m. — one bleeding from a head wound. "There’s also indications and witness accounts of seeing the males running with a black duffel-type bag. So we believe at this point it could be a narcotics robbery,"the sergeant said.
Shortly before 2:30 p.m., a man found the victim and called police, the sergeant said. Because the person who found DiMatteo is a witness, Cooney would not release any information on him or confirm if he was a friend or family member, but the sergeant did say the victim lived alone.
Police were called to the dwelling for a report of a person screaming, then encountered the aforementioned witness who told them he had found DiMatteo knifed to death inside the apartment, Cooney said.
Police found DiMatteo lying on the floor of a bedroom with more than a half-dozen wounds to his chest and abdomen. A medic pronounced the victim dead at the scene at 2:32 p.m.
The suspects were both described as black and in their late teens/early 20s. The wounded male was about 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-6 with a box-style haircut and white T-shirt and blue jeans; the other was about 5-foot-8 and had on a red shirt and shorts.
The sword the suspects used to slay the victim was probably displayed on a wall, Cooney said, adding a blood trail from the wounded suspect led police to a trash can on the 2400 block of South Carlisle where the blade was recovered.
The sergeant said DiMatteo had a pit bull and police believe the suspect’s injury was either caused by the dog or the sword that was about 16-inches long.
To report information, call the Homicide Division at 215-686-3334/5.
Fatal bullet to the throat
After a Point Breeze man took a bullet to the throat in a weekend that saw five homicides and six shootings citywide, he died.
Police responding to a report of a person with a gun minutes before 11 p.m. Friday found Zamer Taylor, 25, from the 1400 block of South 17th Street, lying on the 1700 block of Dickinson Street with a single gunshot to the throat, Homicide Sgt. Tim Cooney said. He was taken to Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he died at 11:25 p.m.
Investigators have no motive or suspects.
To report information, call the Homicide Division at 215-686-3334/5.
Cut up
A man whipped out a box cutter and badly slashed a 28-year-old’s face during a verbal altercation over a prior dispute, police said.
John Bowers, 45, from the 2200 block of South Front Street, was charged with aggravated and simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and possession of an instrument of crime, Detective Joe Chiaro of South Detective Division said.
Bowers and the victim were feuding on the 100 block of Watkins Street at about 1 p.m. Sunday when the brutality erupted, police said. The victim required several staples to close severe lacerations to his face, Chiaro said.
Casings recovered
An 18-year-old heard about six gunshots ring out and then felt pain in his upper left leg. Realizing he was wounded, the teen went to HUP in stable condition after the 6:30 p.m. incident last Thursday, Detective Joe Chiaro of South Detectives said.
The teen, who was walking on the 2600 block of Jackson Street, told police he didn’t see from where the bullets originated or who unleashed them.
Detectives recovered three .22-caliber shell casings on the block.
To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
See no evil
Standing on the corner of Fifth and Christian streets last Thursday, a 21-year-old took a bullet to the stomach. The victim told police he didn’t see anybody fire the multiple shots he heard at about 1 a.m.
With a wound to his belly, the victim went to HUP in stable condition.
To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
Double trouble
A man was relieved of $23 and a $150 cell phone by two knife- and gun-wielding assailants. The incident happened at about 10:30 p.m. last Thursday on the 1200 block of Catharine Street, Detective Joe Chiaro of South Detectives said.
One offender pressed a gun to the 23-year-old’s head while his accomplice held him at knifepoint. The male perpetrators took off on foot in an unknown direction with the cash and phone.
To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
Community meeting
Peace Not Guns is hosting a community forum 6:30 p.m. Sept. 13 at 23rd and Morris streets.
The event takes place at the scene of an Aug. 29 homicide outside a barbershop and is a follow-up to the rally and prayer vigil held at that same spot Labor Day, Peace Not Guns founder Kenyatta Johnson said. Johnson said the purpose of the meeting is to give neighbors a chance to voice their concerns about violence.
In the Aug. 29 incident a 30-year-old man and a 67-year-old bystander, the latter waiting for a bus, were shot. The younger man, Riheem Wearen from the 1500 block of Dickinson Street, died at HUP at 2:06 p.m. Aug. 29 after being hit multiple times in the back, police said. The senior suffered a graze wound to his right shoulder and a shot to the right ankle. The latter was in stable condition at HUP after the incident.
Investigators have made no arrest in the case.
To report information, call the Homicide Division at 215-686-3334/5.
‘Lex Street’ author hosts Q&A;
Antonne Jones, South Philly native and author of "The Lex Street Massacre"book and documentary DVD, is hosting a Q&A; forum and documentary screening Sept. 19. The screening will be first on the agenda during the 6 to 8 p.m. affair at the African American Museum, 701 Arch St., and is free and open to the public.
Confirmed guest speakers at press time were defense attorneys Charles P. Mirarchi 3d, Nino Tinari and Robert Gamburg; Honorable Judge Gregory Smith and his law clerk Arthur Dixon; Assistant District Attorney Mark Gilson; Tamika Porter, sister of 18-year-old victim George Porter; and wrongfully accused suspect Sacon Youk and his mother Meejin Youk.
Police honor their own
On the sixth anniversary of 9/11, the Philadelphia Police Department and the American Quilt Memorial Organization commemorated the lives of law enforcement personnel who died by unveiling Philadelphia’s contribution to a one-million-square-foot quilt honoring all victims of the terrorist attacks.
Law enforcement agencies across the country were invited to create a 45-square-foot quilt piece to honor each police officer who perished that day in New York City. Philadelphia created about a half-dozen, which were displayed in the lobby of the Police Administration Building, Eighth and Race streets, 10 a.m. Tuesday. The pieces will join the roughly 3,000 others that will be sewn into one quilt.
Making bail
Aug. 27, the Philadelphia Prison System in cooperation with the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania opened a Bail Acceptance office at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, 7901 State Road.
"We need to remove some of the barriers that keep people in jail when they are eligible for release. If we make it easier for people to pay their bail, it will shorten people’s stay here in the Prison System and reduce prison population," Commissioner Leon A. King 2nd said in a press release.
Located in the visitors’ lobby, the office will operate from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Cash, certified checks and credit cards will be accepted for payment. "You’ll be able to pay bail and pick up your loved one at the same place,"King said.
Other bail acceptance in Philadelphia is handled at the Criminal Justice Center, 13th and Filbert streets, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
For more information, call the bail office at 215-687-7288.
