Accused road rage killer’s friends shocked by his arrest
The August after he graduated from Chichester High School in 2007, David A. Desper was charged in Philadelphia with illegal racing and failing to use a safety belt, according to online court records.
Desper, 28, of Trainer, was found guilty on Oct. 9, 2007, of both summary traffic offenses at the lower court level, but won a reversal on summary appeal. On Jan. 14, 2008, Common Pleas Judge Frank Palumbo found him not guilty of both offenses, according to a summary appeal docket.
Friends say Desper, who was charged Sunday with first-degree murder and related offenses in the June 28 road rage shooting death of 18-year-old Bianca Roberson in Chester County, was known to drag race in Philadelphia.
“A lot of us have been talking and nobody ever knew him to be violent, nothing like that. He’s just an ordinary guy,” said a fellow Trainer resident who has known Desper for years, but asked to remain anonymous. “There was nothing super special about him, nothing super bad. That’s what adds to the shock.”
Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced Desper’s arrest in the road rage homicide at a press conference Sunday morning - ending an exhaustive search for a suspect driving a red pickup truck that spanned the nation in a case that gained international media coverage.
Calling it “a crucial piece of evidence,” Hogan said that fragments of a .40-caliber bullet consistent with being fired from a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun had been removed from Roberson’s body.
According to Hogan, the .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun that fired the bullet into Roberson’s head was found in the bedroom of Desper’s home in Trainer. In a nearby trash can, .40-caliber ammunition was discovered.
Desper purchased the gun legally back in November 2015, and he had a permit to carry the firearm, the Chester County district attorney said.
A dented, faded red Chevy Silverado C1500 registered to Desper, which matched the image of the suspected vehicle captured on video used by investigators to track a possible getaway path, was recovered at a home on Huntingdon Farm Drive in Glen Mills.
Hogan said Monday that when Chester County authorities went to the Glen Mills residence to retrieve the truck, they expected to find it in a garage where they were told it would be.
“It was not. It was in the driveway with the keys hanging from the door,” Hogan said.
Hogan characterized the owners of the Huntington Farm Drive residence as “friends of the (Desper) family.”
A search warrant was executed at the Glen Mills property, and the investigation remains ongoing, Hogan said. As for any potential charges, Hogan declined to speculate.
“We will see what we find out,” he said.
Reiterating Monday that his client voluntarily surrendered, attorney Daniel McGarrigle said Desper arrived at his Media law office sometime Saturday, accompanied by family members he declined to identify. McGarrigle said he notified Chester County authorities who subsequently came to his office and took Desper into custody.
“This is a tragedy. There is no two ways around it,” McGarrigle said, declining to discuss any specifics about the murder case.
“Nobody is served in litigating this case in the press,” McGarrigle said.
Regarding Desper’s case in Philadelphia in 2007, McGarrigle said he couldn’t speak for the facts because he was not there.
“But the judge heard the evidence and then he decided he did not commit the act,” McGarrigle said. “He was acquitted.”
Online court records also show eight additional cases involving traffic violations against Desper, filed in 2014 and 2015 in Linwood, Glen Mills and Darby Township. Violations involved registration and inspection.
At Desper’s residence on Anderson Street in Trainer Monday afternoon, a man on a riding mower gestured no comment as he focused on the lawn.
A nearby resident who was taking a walk said Desper’s arrest was not a topic of conversation among anyone he knew in the neighborhood.
“I didn’t know him,’ the man said.
A few blocks away on Chestnut Street, at the house believed to belong to relatives of the defendant, a message was taped to the door.
“Our hearts go out to the Roberson family,” the handwritten message on white, spiral notebook paper reads. “We will have no further comments at this time.”