U.D. police make arrest in trolley station shooting
UPPER DARBY » Police have arrested a Drexel Hill man in connection with what they call a February drug deal gone wrong at the Edmonds Avenue SEPTA trolley station.
Police arrested Jamel Keith Davis, 22, on Tuesday and charged him with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, robbery, weapons violations and recklessly engendering another person.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, police were called to the station at Edmonds and Jones Street about 7:50 p.m. that Tuesday evening for the report of a shooting.
Police arrived to find a victim who had been shot in the right shoulder; he was treated by paramedics and transported to Lankenau Medical Center.
As part of their investigation police reviewed surveillance video which showed two subjects approaching the station from the 300 block of Edmunds Avenue. As they approach one is seen talking on a cellphone near the station, they then engage with the victim and go into the station when a struggle ensues.
Inside one of the two subjects raises an object and briefly points it at the victim before the two run out of the station towards the tracks, according to the affidavit.
The day following the shooting detectives interviewed the victim who told him he was going to sell marijuana to a person he had been contacted by phone.
The victim told police that on the evening of the shooting he was approached by two men and when he called the number he had made the arrangements through he could see one answer his phone as they approached.
That verified to the victim the two were there to buy marijuana and the three entered the station. At that point a robbery was announced as one subject pulled out a firearm.
The victim described a physical altercation then the shooting occurred. The two suspects took the marijuana and fled down the tracks toward Garrett Road and the victim fled towards Jones Street.
The victim provided police with the cellphone number of the shooter and police requested a search warrant from T-Mobile for the target phone which belonged to Davis and showed communication with the victim the day of the shooting.
In the days following the shooting police were in contact with a subject who told them they knew the victim and had provided him with a cellphone number of a
person who wanted to purchase marijuana. The witness told police they knew the suspect from time around the Garrettford Elementary rear steps and kept the suspect’s number in their phone with the “plug” emoji for identification.
A forensic check of that phone confirmed that.
A second witness told police they know the victim, the first witness and has been in contact with the suspect about buying marijuana.
With Davis, who lived jest two blocks from the shooting, identified as a suspect, police showed the witnesses Davis’ photo among an eight- photo array at different settings, they picked the suspect’s photo as did the victim in another photo array on Tuesday, May 24.
Police are still looking for the second perpetrator in the shooting.
“This arrest you’ve got to give all the credit in the world to Detective Bob Marvil and Sgt. Bill Sminkey, they worked on this from day one in February,” Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt said following the arrest. “It included numerous interviews and a lot of data analysis. These detectives went door to door; they reviewed hours and hours of surveillance video, that data analysis along with interviews is what allowed us to charge this guy. We view him as someone who is dangerous and are glad to get him off the streets.”