Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Juveniles face homicide charges
Coatesville teens arrested following fatal shooting of a city man
COATESVILLE » Police arrested two Coatesville teenagers Thursday and charged both with the fatal shooting of a city man who the defendants said had slapped one of the suspects in the face during an argument.
According to arrest affidavits, Edwar Nestor Pinto and Taj’a Wood Wuanyez Richards both gave statements to investigators from Coatesville police and Chester County Detectives implicating themselves in the homicide of 22-year-old Cornell Dupree Thompson. The victim was shot multiple times in the torso and legs on Tuesday.
Pinto, 17, of the 300 block of Charles Street — where the homicide occurred — and Richards, 16, of North Church Street, were arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Marian Thayer Vito on Thursday evening. She ordered them held without bail, and they were taken to Chester County Prison to await a preliminary hearing.
Both are charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, aggravated assault, possession of an instrument of crime, recklessly endangering another person, and firearms not to be carried without a license. Because
of their age, if convicted of first-degree murder, they face the possibility of a state prison sentence of between 35 years and life. They are
both charged as adults.
Police found Thompson at the intersection of Plum Alley and Concord Street in the city’s East End, about one block from where the shooting took place. He was taken to Brandywine Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
In a criminal complaint filed Thursday by Coatesville Detective Kirt Guyer and county Detective Gerald Davis, the two teenagers were allegedly identified through a witness statement and footage from a video surveillance camera that captured the shooting on tape. The two later
gave separate incriminating statements to the detectives while their mothers were present.
In their affidavit, the investigators wrote that the incident began when there were reports of shots being fired in the 300 block of Charles Street at 10:12 p.m. Tuesday. When Officer Jerald
Davis checked the area, he found Thompson lying face down in the street. The detectives later found two cars parked on the block with bullet holes and a shattered rear window. They recovered 13 spent 9mm shell casings.
A witness, whose name was withheld for his safety, told police that he had seen a white four-door sedan pull up in front of homes in the 300 block of Charles Street and saw two males get out. The first, described as wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, walked over to a parked black Honda Accord and stood on the sidewalk. The second, who the witness said was wearing a green hooded sweatshirt, walked over to the car and began leaning on it.
Shortly thereafter, the witness said, Thompson walked up and began talking with the second male. As the witness began walking away, he heard gunshots.
Guyer and Davis stated that they were able to view surveillance footage from Charles Street and saw the white sedan pull up and the two males get out around 9:47 p.m. They were able to identify Richards and the person wearing the red sweatshirt and Pinto as the person wearing the green sweatshirt. Thompson approached Pinto, spoke with him momentarily, and then at 10:05 p.m. got into what appeared to be a physical
altercation with him.
Pinto then pulled out a handgun from his sweatshirt and shot Thompson once, falling onto the ground with him. Richards then pulled out another handgun and began firing it at Thompson as Thompson ran away down Plum Alley. The pair then pulled their hoods over their heads and ran north from the scene through some bushes.
Both were taken into custody on Thursday. In his interview, Pinto said that he had been approached by Thompson while he was standing on the street, and that Thompson became aggressive with him, eventually slapped him in the face. He said he drew his silver 9mm Ruger out and fired one shot, but that the gun jammed. He said he fled the scene and was picked up by his father.
In his interview, Richards said he was standing on the street with Pinto when he saw Thompson slap him, and then heard a gunshot. He said he pulled a black handgun and fired eight or nine times at Thompson before fleeing the scene and running home.
At the time of his death, Thompson, who had a criminal record dating back to 2013, was on parole for simple assault and criminal trespass. He was also set to serve a probationary sentence for a theft charge from 2016.