REWARD FUND GROWS Page 3
IT’S NOW $7,500 FOR INFO THAT LEADS TO CONVICTION IN HAVERFORD SLAYING
HAVERFORD » Investigators continue to follow leads in the hunt for Derrick Hershal Rollins, 24, a Philadelphia man suspected of the Saturday night slaying of 29-year-old Narberth man, John Le.
Le was reportedly visiting a friend on the 2300 block Haverford Road in the Ardmore section of Haverford Township around 6:10 p.m. Saturday night when Rollins allegedly approached and fatally shot Le in the torso.
Images of Rollins have been widely circulated following what authorities said was the first homicide in Haverford in more than a decade. However the Philadelphia man remains at large a week after the fatal shooting.
The U.S. Marshals office has contributed an additional $2,500 to the $5,000 put up by the Delaware County District Attorney’s office for the arrest and conviction of the man wanted in Le’s murder.
“We’re still following leads, checking video, backtracking video cameras we may have missed, just waiting for him to pop up,” said Haverford Police Chief John Viola on Friday.
“We’re asking for the
“We’re still following leads, checking video, backtracking video cameras we may have missed, just waiting for him to pop up. We’re asking for the public’s help.” — Haverford Police Chief John Viola
public’s help.”
Authorities identified Rollins on Tuesday as the man wearing a red hoodie whose image was captured on surveillance camera running from the scene on the 2300 block of Haverford Road where Le was shot around 6:10 p.m. Saturday. Authorities said Le had just left a pizza shop and was walking to a friend’s nearby apartment when he was ambushed at the door.
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan said the gunman had already walked past Original Eagle Pizza before Le exited the shop.
“He seemed to double back and follow him,” Whelan said of the suspect. “We have no motive, no reason why this young man was gunned down and assassinated.”
Le, whose family has asked for privacy during this difficult time, was a graduate of Lower Merion High School and Temple University. He worked a an accountant at Sneaker Villa on Arch Street in Center City Philadelphia where friends claimed he had hoped to design a sneaker for his favorite pastime, disc golf.
Le was a regular at Sedgley Woods Disc Golf Course in the Fairmount Park section of Philadelphia, where on Sunday at 3 p.m. the Friends of Sedgley Woods will host a memorial tournament to raise proceeds that will be donated to support his family.
“You will always be a part of Sedgley Woods Family,” said a member online to Le. “You will always be in our hearts.”
A gofundme account has been established to help with funeral costs and by Friday evening, the campaign has raised over $16,761 from 274 different donors, many of whom have left thoughtful and encouraging messages in memory of the 29-year-old from Narberth.
“My day to day is never going to be the same,” one donor wrote. “I’ll miss our conversations about disc golf and hearing you spew your disdain for certain players on the ATP.”
“We have lost a one of the nicest people I’ve ever met,” wrote another.
A coworker from Sneaker Villa said Le was “such an awesome young man, super friendly, intelligent and hard working.”
The group “Tennis Philly” posted, “Our tennis community will sorely miss you John!”
Police said that when they arrived on the scene Saturday night, Le’s friend was administering CPR.
Le was transported by ambulance to Lankenau Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Less than an hour before Le was slain, two men were uninjured when Rollins reportedly sprayed 17 shots after being questioned for looking into the rear entrance of a residence on the 1600 block of North 77th Street in Overbrook. Philadelphia police said when Rollins was confronted, he pulled out a gun started firing.
A charcoal gray Volvo was seen driving erratically away from the Overbrook scene. Later, another witness in Haverford saw the same vehicle speeding away from the scene of Le’s murder. Police believe Rollins drove the vehicle from the scene of the first shooting into Haverford, then used it as a getaway car after the murder.
“A witness in our area saw the vehicle driving at a high rate of speed, wrote down license on Saturday, and didn’t see the news until Monday about the homicide,” Viola said. “We were able to match the license plate to Rollins.”
Rollins has addresses in the 5100 block of Locust Street, where the gray Volvo was recovered, and on the 4000 block of North A Street, both in Philadelphia. He is described as a black male, 6 feet tall, about 160 pounds with close-cropped beard and mustache.
Whelan said ballistics linked a cartridge casing recovered from the fatal shooting scene to that of the shooting in Overbrook. The gun used in both the Philadelphia and Haverford shootings was described as a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun, however the gun was not recovered in searches.
On Facebook, Rollins goes by Derrick Twit Rollins. According to his page, he is engaged and hails from North Dakota. There are also photos of a child identified as Derrick Jr.
According to online court records, Rollins was sentenced May 6, 2014, to a maximum five years of probation after he entered a negotiated guilty plea on a February 2014 charge of possession with the intent to deliver or manufacture.
Online court records also show that Rollins was arrested July 24, 2014, on charges including possession of a firearm prohibited, firearms not to be carried without a license and carrying a firearm in public in Philadelphia. Though he was held for trial on the charges, a motion for release was filed Oct. 20, 2015, under Rule 600 – which guarantees the right to a speedy trial for all criminal defendants. The disposition of that motion was not immediately available.
Viola said Rollin’s criminal history dates back to when he was juvenile.
“He has a long criminal history and he clearly should not have been on the street,” Viola said. “This guy is a dangerous criminal.”