3 charged in murder at Chester restaurant

CHESTER » Three men have been charged for the shooting death of 21-yearold Ahmaad James Boston inside a city restaurant last month in what appears to be part of an ongoing and violent feud between two families.

Tyson Ronald Vest, 22, William Alonzo Sadler,

21, both of the 800 block of East 16th Street, and Dajuan Sadler, 28, of the

200 block of Green Street in Marcus Hook, are all charged with criminal homicide and related offenses in the Nov. 3 shooting that took place at New York Fried Chicken and Grill Restaurant on the 3100 block of West Ninth Street.

Affidavits of probable cause for the trio describe the shooting as a possible retaliation for the June 7,

2017, shooting death of Darnell Sadler, which in turn could have a connection to the shooting death of Boston’s brother, Jashaad Boston, on Jan. 4,

2017.

“The connection is being explored between all three incidents,” said Police Chief James Nolan IV Wednesday. “We’re looking at the connections between the homicides. As that develops, we’ll charge accordingly.”

Police were called to the restaurant about 5:09 p.m. Nov. 3 for a report of a shooting victim inside. Responding officers discovered Boston slumped over in a sitting position by the door to the kitchen with blood coming from his mouth and gunshot wounds to his torso, according to the affidavits.

Boston was unconscious and unresponsive when officers arrived. Medics from Crozer-Chester Medical Center transported him to the hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Witnesses reported seeing two men wearing ski masks firing from the parking lot into the restaurant before fleeing east on

9th Street in a grey sedan, according to the affidavit written by Chester Detective Victor Heness.

Crime Scene Investigator William Swanson found 21 spent 9mm shell casings in the parking lot and sidewalk in front of

3103 W. Ninth St., as well as one more casing, two projectile fragments and one projectile in front of 3107 W. Ninth St. A witness reportedly told officers she had moved a handgun from between the victim’s legs with her foot as a precaution, which investigators processing the scene retrieved.

Detectives reviewed surveillance footage from the area and observed a grey, late-’90s Chevrolet Lumina heading east on Ninth Street before turning north onto Grace Street, as one witness had described.

A database search of registered vehicles matching that description within a

10-mile radius turned up a 1991 Chevrolet Lumina registered to William Sadler. Detectives indicated in the affidavit that they were familiar with an on-going dispute between the Sadler and Boston families stemming from multiple shootings and homicides since January 2017.

Video surveillance taken near Vest and Sadler’s address on the 800 block of East 16th Street showed the Lumina parking on the 800 block of Glen Terrace at 5:12 p.m. and three men exiting before walking to the 16th Street property, according to the affidavit. Detectives Heness and David J. Defrank identified the three men as Vest and the Sadler brothers.

Detectives from the city and Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division found all three men inside the 16th Street property when they executed a search warrant there Nov. 7, according to the affidavit.

Located in a drop-ceiling tile was a .45 caliber handgun, which Vest allegedly told detectives belonged to him. That weapon was later determined to have been reported stolen, the affidavit says.

Investigators also allegedly found a 9mm Taurus handgun with 16 live rounds in a backpack in the back yard. CID Detective Louis Grandizio, a firearms expert, matched at least four shell casings found at the murder scene to the Taurus through microscopic comparisons, according to the affidavit.

Heness and CID Detective Daniel McFarland spoke to Dajuan Sadler in a recorded interview at the Chester Police Department Nov. 7, according to the affidavit.

Sadler allegedly told detectives he had been driving the Lumina through the parking lot of the Family Dollar on the 3100 block of West Ninth Street Nov.

3 with Vest and his brother when the other two men suddenly told him to stop. William Sadler and Vest got out of the car and walked toward the strip of stores, Sadler said.

“After approximately one minute, Dajuan heard numerous gun shots being fired from the direction of where he last saw Tyson and William walking,” according to the affidavit. “After the initial shots stop, Dajuan sees William running back towards the vehicle with a gun in his hand. Dajuan then hears more gun shots and then observed Tyson running towards the vehicle with a gun in his hand.”

Sadler said the two men got into the car and told him to drive away from the area, according to the affidavit. He allegedly said he drove directly to the 16th Street residence and parked on the 800 block of Glen Terrace, where detectives later recovered the Lumina for processing.

Once inside, Sadler said Vest and his brother told him the family can “rest easy” now, according to the affidavit. When he asked why, they allegedly told him, “We got the m—————- that killed baby brother.”

Sadler said he understood that meant one of the Boston brothers had been shot in retaliation for the 2017 death of Darnell Sadler, according to the affidavit.

Nolan said Vest and William Sadler were taken into custody Monday morning at Chester District Court, where they were appearing on another criminal matter. Dajuan Sadler was already incarcerated and a detainer was lodged against him in the murder case.

Vest and William Sadler were preliminarily arraigned and remanded to the county prison in Concord. A preliminary hearing for all three men is scheduled for Jan. 8 before Magisterial District Judge Spencer B. Seaton Jr.

“The assigned detectives really put in a strong effort to bring the murder of Mr. Boston before the court,” said Nolan. “I am confident that the District Attorney’s Office will bring this to an acceptable conclusion. We appreciate the effort put forth by the detectives in Chester and the Office of the District Attorney in bringing some relief to the family of Ahmaad J. Boston.”

Nolan will join the Delaware County District Attorney’s office as the head of CID next month with incoming District Attorney-Elect Jack Stollsteimer.