Chester man convicted of fatally running down pedestrian

A Chester man was convicted Friday for the March 2017 death of 24-year-old Fhatif Ali Muhammad Spence.

Torraize Armstrong, 34, was found guilty of accidents involving death and accidents involving death while not licensed, both felonies, following a jury trial before Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge James Bradley last week.

Spence was killed early March 11 on the Fifth Street Bridge in Chester after a Dodge Durango driven by Armstrong ran him over, causing multiple blunt force injuries. Delaware County Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Bennett Preston ruled the death a homicide.

Chester Police Officer Jonathan Ross testified that he was dispatched to the scene at about 1:50 a.m. While en route, he received word that there were possible shots fired.

After arriving, Ross told Assistant District Attorney Michelle Thurstlic-O’Neill that he found Spence face down on the bridge in a large pool of blood. Spence’s clothes were torn and there were vehicle parts on the ground around him, according to Ross. Spence could not be resuscitated, Ross said.

Officer Kevin Smith soon arrived and said he spotted the Durango sitting with its front wheels on the curb about one block west of where Spence’s body was found. The Durango had crashed into a van after apparently striking several other vehicles on Fifth Street, he said.

Smith spoke with Armstrong, who identified himself as the driver, as well as a passenger who appeared to be injured. Armstrong allegedly provided Smith with a Pennsylvania identification card but admitted he was not licensed to drive.

The passenger, who had been shot in the arm, was taken to a hospital and Smith moved on to another car that had apparently been struck. After speaking with that driver, he said he returned to the Durango, but Armstrong was no longer present.

Detective Ben Thomas spoke with Armstrong the following day at his address on Curran Street in a taped interview played for the jury. Armstrong told the detective he had been at a bar with his friend until about 1:45 a.m. and was driving home.

Upon reaching Penn and Fifth streets, Armstrong said someone wearing a hooded sweatshirt passed in front of his car and then shots rang out. He said he put his head down and drove until the Durango crashed. Both men ran out of the car and around the corner on Patterson Street until they saw ambulances and police cars arrive, then returned to the vehicle, he said. Armstrong said he remained there and spoke with police, but after no one interacted with him for about 20 minutes, he got a ride home.

Chester Crime Scene Officer Jeffrey Linowski said several bullet casings were found on the roadway of Fifth Street and the

the Durango had taken eight or nine shots to the passenger door. County Detective Louis Grandizio, a firearms expert, said he examined 14 shell casings found at the scene and determined they were all fired from the same gun.

County Detective James Reardon also testified that he tracked the Durango’s path and determined it had jumped the curb and struck Spence before continuing on, based on scuff marks on the sidewalk and damage done to the vehicle.

Armstrong told defense attorney Jacquie Jones that he did not know either at the time of the accident or when he first spoke to investigators that he might have hit someone. When Thomas told him detectives were investigating a death at the scene, Armstrong said he assumed it had to with the gunfire.

Once the shots began, Armstrong said he “got as low as I could get” and stepped on the gas. After the crash, Armstrong and his passenger said they could still hear gunfire and ran.

Armstrong said he was never told to stay at the scene after returning and was upset with police for not paying him any attention, believing he was the victim of a shooting and that there were no other victims at that time. It was not until days later that he said he learned he might have been responsible for Spence’s death and contacted police for a second interview.

“I don’t feel like I’ve done anything wrong,” he said. “I’m sorry for the death, but if I’m at a light again and someone shoots 14, 15 times, I’m going to step on the gas and go.”

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 4 pending a presentence investigation and drug and alcohol evaluation. Armstrong remains incarcerated at the county prison in Concord.