Reward offered for information on homicides

COATESVILLE >> A reward is being offered for help with information about the last four homicides in the city.

The Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers and the Chester County District Attorney’s office is offering a combined total reward of $4,000 for information on the arrest and conviction of any person(s) involved in the four unsolved homicides in Coatesville this year. There have been a total of seven homicides in Coatesville this year.

The Coatesville Police Department and the Chester County Detectives are investigating the recent homicides that occurred within two weeks of each other, including a double homicide and a homicide that followed the day after that. Coatesville police responded to shots fired in the 500 block of East Lincoln Highway on Sept. 28 around 3:20 a.m. Upon arrival, police said they

found David Fitzsimmons, 56, of Coatesville, dead from a gunshot wound and William “Basil” Chance, 46, of Philadelphia and Coatesville, was shot as well. He died later that morning at the hospital. Police said they discovered a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia inside the apartment. Coatesville police responded to shots fired in Modena Alley, west of the unit block of South Sixth Avenue, on Sept. 29 at 5:08 a.m. Upon arrival, police said they found Damon Wylie, 50, of Coatesville, lying on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to the hospital where he later succumbed from his injuries.

Coatesville police responded to the 600 block of Belmont Street for a report of shots fired on Oct. 3 at about 6:40 p.m. Upon arrival, police said they located Kevin P. Jalbert lying on the ground suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to the hospital where he died from his injuries. He was a 36-year-old veteran of South Carolina who was recently discharged from the Coatesville Veterans Affairs Medical Center hospital in Caln.

Coatesville police made arrests in the first three homicides of the year. Police arrested an associate of the victim in each of the first three homicides this year.

The public can contact the Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-4PATIPS, the Coatesville Police Department at 610-3842300 or the Chester County Detectives at 610-344-6801. Anonymous tips can be submitted via text message to TIP411 (847411) with key word “Coatesville” or by downloading the Coatesville Police Mobile Phone App.

Visit Daily Local News staff writer Ginger Rae Dunbar’s blog about journalism and volunteering as a firefighter at FirefighterGinger.blogspot.com.