Did secret tryst lead to Chester man’s murder?
CHESTER» A 31-year-old city man is being held at the county prison without bail on first-degree murder and related offenses in connection with the death of a 20-year-old city man earlier this year.
The Jan. 23 fatal shooting of Chadease Coleman was apparently the fallout over a secret romance the victim was having with a woman who had been dating his best friend, according to the charging document filed against Matthew Leopold.
A warrant was signed Monday for the arrest of Leopold, who was subsequently taken into custody without incident at his place of employment in Philadelphia, city Police Chief James Nolan IV said Wednesday. Leopold was not identified as the triggerman in the nine-page affidavit of probable cause for arrest.
Additional charges filed against Leopold include second and third-degree murder, criminal conspiracy to murder, robbery, firearms not to be carried without a license and possession of an instrument of crime.
Wednesday night, Nolan said that the homicide investigation by city and county detectives is ongoing and additional arrests are expected.
“My client vehemently denies the charges that are alleged. He was not involved in a conspiracy to commit murder, or any conspiracy whatsoever,” defense attorney Michael Harris Fienman said Wednesday night. “He looks forward to having his day in court.”
Coleman was suffering from numerous gunshot wounds when he was found in a Kia Sportage parked in the 500 block of Mosley Court in Chester on Jan. 23, shortly after 8:30 p.m. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
When shots rang out, Coleman was in the car with three others, including two young children who were in the back seat. A front seat passenger, identified in the affidavit as Witness No. 1, later told police that the gunman was among three males who fled the area in a “black sedan with two red Christmas bows on the front” grill.
At the scene of the shooting, investigators recovered eight .40-caliber and three 9 mm spent shell casings on the ground in front of Coleman’s Kia.
According to the affidavit, information from as many as six witnesses combined with video, cell phone records and social media accounts led to charges against Leopold.
The lengthy affidavit, authored by city Detective David DeFrank and county Detective Timothy Deery, maintains witness anonymity by identifying them only by number.
One of the witnesses in the case was dating Coleman’s best friend from October through December 2017. That same witness began to secretly date Coleman – behind Coleman’s best friend’s back.
“Witness No. 1 indicated that Witness No. 2 found out about the relationship in the middle of December and there was friction and harsh feelings between Coleman and Witness No. 2, who had been best friends for a long period of time until the secret relationship was discovered by Witness No. 2,” the probable cause affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, Witness 1 is the individual who was in the car with Coleman when he was shot. Witness 2 is Coleman’s best friend - whom Witness 1 had been dating before starting the secret relationship with Coleman.
Witness 1 told authorities that on Jan. 6, Coleman reportedly confronted Witness 2, and the situation escalated into a fight with Witness 2 requiring medical attention.
During an interview with police, according to the charging document, Witness 2 was shown a copy of an instant message from Jan. 6 that was retrieved from Witness 2’s telephone.
The message was between Witness 2 and another individual identified only as Witness No. 3.
Witness 2: Naww me and Chad not cool no more. I think I got a concussion.
Witness 3: Oh snap ya cousins just lest here Witness 2: What they say Witness 3: They said if they catch him before my mom do they gone hurt him.
After Witness 2 left to the hospital and returned to a residence in Chester, Leopold showed up at the house and told Witness 2 to take a ride with him, the affidavit states. “Witness #2 … got into Leopold’s black Tahoe,” with Leopold then introducing Witness 2 to a male in the front passenger seat who was wearing a ski mask on his face and a hoodie over his head, the affidavit states. Witness 2 described this person as a stocky, dark-skinned black male with a deep voice and beard.
Witness 2 said Leopold then picked up another male. When Witness 2 asked Leopold what they were doing, Leopold reportedly said that when “it goes down” that Witness 2 was going to have to stay somewhere for a while, the affidavit states.
They then drove around Chester looking for Coleman’s white Kia, the affidavit states. “Witness 2 believed that Leopold and the other occupants of the vehicle were going to attempt to kill Coleman if they found him,’ the affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, Witness 2 told those in the car, “Listen, there’s no reason to take anybody’s life over this. This is stupid. There’s no point in doing this. It’s not that serious.”
On the morning of Jan. 23, Coleman left for work from his paternal grandmother’s house in North Philadelphia about 11:30 a.m. Coleman returned home from work around 6:30 p.m.
“Coleman received a call from his mother … in Chester. (She) requested Coleman bring her some money that he owed her,” the affidavit states. “Coleman indicated he would drive the money down.”
According to the affidavit, Coleman was accompanied by Witness 1 and two children.
En route to Chester, Coleman’s mother called and requested that Coleman stop at a store to buy her some drinks. He stopped at a gas station/convenience store at Ninth and Tilghman streets in Chester.
As he was pulling out of the station, a black Lincoln Town car with red Christmas bows attached to the front grill appeared and it “blocked them in,” Witness 1 told investigators, according to the affidavit. The front driver’s window of the Lincoln was down and Witness 1 recognized the driver as “Matthew.”
Coleman proceeded to drive to his mother’s residence on Mosley Court. As they turned onto the block, the same black Lincoln drove toward the Kia, travelling the wrong way on a one-way street.
“Coleman had to stop his vehicle or he would have run head on into the Lincoln,” the affidavit states. The driver exited the Lincoln and approached the driver’s side of the Kia. Coleman exited the Kia.
According to the affidavit, “Matthew” then stated to Coleman, “Why you do that to my nephew?”
A second man then exited the Lincoln, approached Coleman and attempted to reach into Coleman’s pockets as if to rob him. A third male then walked in front of the vehicle from the Kia passenger side to the driver’s side. The third male raised a small black handgun and shot Coleman while Coleman was standing behind the open driver’s door, the affidavit states.
Coleman was sitting down in the driver’s seat of the KIA when a second shot was fired, cracking the driver’s side door window. Three males then fled the area in the black Lincoln, the affidavit states.
A preliminary hearing is listed for April 25 before Magisterial District Judge Spencer B. Seaton Jr.