4 more teens arrested in fatal subway attack; sixth sought [Philadelphia]

Phila Daily News ^ | 4/3/08 | DAVID GAMBACORTA, DAFNEY TALES & JULIE SHAW

[freespirited]

Sharon Conroy spent yesterday morning doing the quietly heartbreaking chores that a parent must do when her child is killed - going to court, stopping by his apartment, collecting the new bills that he'll never get to pay. But by last night, she was ready to do a bittersweet victory dance. Police officials announced that four more Simon Gratz High School students had been arrested and charged with murdering Sean Patrick Conroy.

The arrests came a week to the day that Conroy, 36, died of a fatal asthma attack after six teens inexplicably pummeled him on an underground Center City SEPTA platform.

With five of the attackers now behind bars, police officials said that they were focusing on identifying the sixth person involved. A police source said the suspect didn't attend Simon Gratz, unlike the other teens.

"We're very grateful," Sharon Conroy said last night, adding that she felt like doing "a happy dance."

When a police detective informed her of the new arrests, Conroy said her response was, "Hallelujah, praise the Lord! Thank you."

Homicide Capt. Michael Costello identified the teens charged yesterday as Ameer Best, 17, of 24th Street near Norris; Arthur Alston, 16, of Fisher Avenue near 8th Street; Rasheem Bell, 16, of Tampa Street near Wyoming Avenue, and Nashir Fisher, 16, of Marvine Street near Tioga.

Another accused attacker, Kinta Stanton, 16, was arrested last week by a SEPTA police officer while trying to flee the crime scene, Costello said.

All of the teens have been charged as adults with murder and conspiracy. Stanton was scheduled for a preliminary hearing yesterday morning, but it was continued to June 11.

Citizens across the city expressed outrage when the case seemed to come to a standstill following Stanton's arrest.

Costello said investigators knew the identities of the four other students for several days, but needed to get their evidence in order before they made any arrests.

"It had to be legal," he said. "It's one thing to know; it's another to prove it.

"The information had to be developed; it had to be confirmed; it had to be corroborated before we could proceed with it."

Three of the teens were picked up by police at Simon Gratz yesterday morning, and the fourth was found at home.

Costello said the students and their relatives were taken to Police Headquarters for questioning.

He declined to comment on what the teens said in their interviews with homicide detectives, but noted that all the families were cooperative.

In spite of the arrests, Costello said investigators were no closer to making sense of Conroy's death.

"We have no reason why this occurred. We don't believe it was a robbery. Despite the speculation, there is absolutely no indication that it was any type of a hate crime," Costello said.

Conroy was attacked from behind on the SEPTA concourse at 13th and Market streets about 2:30 p.m. last Wednesday. When he fell to the ground, the teens pummeled him with punches and kicks, police said.

A SEPTA police officer witnessed part of the attack and tried to come to Conroy's aid. Conroy died shortly after at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Stanton's attorney, John Brendan Elbert, told a reporter yesterday that the teen was on the subway platform during the attack but "had no involvement."

"He didn't know what was going on until he actually saw it," Elbert said.

The attorney claimed that Stanton had given police the names of the other teens who were involved and was "suffering retaliation for [cooperating] at the prison."

Prison spokesman Bob Eskind said Stanton was not being harassed at the Philadelphia Industrial Correction Center in Northeast Philadelphia, where he's being held.

Sharon Conroy said almost 200 mourners attended her son's funeral on Tuesday and remembered the Center City Starbucks manager as a gentle and caring person.

She encouraged many of his friends and relatives to remain calm in the face of the tragedy, but acknowledged her own eagerness to see the case resolved.

"You want them to be caught and get the process started," Conroy said.

Reaction to the case was more muted at Simon Gratz High School yesterday.

Principal Vera White declined to comment, and school police officers tried to prevent a Daily News reporter from interviewing students after school ended.

Pertrice Lane, 17, an 11th-grader, said the implicated students were giving the school a bad name. "This is a reflection of three people in our school, " Lane said. "Everybody is not bad." *

[freespirited]

Despite the speculation, there is absolutely no indication that it was any type of a hate crime," Costello said.

But were the victim black and the perps white I suspect it would automatically be a hate crime.

[blam]

Line’em up and shoot’em.

[karnage]

“inexplicable” attack, huh? Was the victim white? (Sorry to be behind the curve on this)

[johnny7]

I bet they all walk...

[stainlessbanner]

< snip >

Keenan Jones, the co-founder of Black Entrepreneurs and Rap United Together, a local entertainment company, said he worked with many of the teens involved in Wednesday's attack.

He said the teens lost a friend and fellow group member to suicide on Tuesday. Jones said they didn't know how to deal with their loss, which is why they lashed out when they had words with Tazwell.

"They were not some thugs who went downtown to attack people," he said.

Source

[freespirited]

Yes, the victim was white and the gang of attackers black.

[Signalman]

First names of the accused criminals, according to the article:

Nasheem, Ameer, Kinta and...Arthur?

Nope, no hate crime here.

Nothing to see here, move along.

[freespirited]

He said the teens lost a friend and fellow group member to suicide on Tuesday. Jones said they didn't know how to deal with their loss, which is why they lashed out when they had words with Tazwell.

Oh for cryin out loud, why doesnt he just say they ate too many twinkies? A lot of us lost friends, either to accidents or suicide when we were that age. Yet we didn't go attack anyone.

[Signalman]

Yes, the victim was white and the gang of attackers black.

Well then, that does it for me. No hate crime here. Everyone knows that white males cannot be victims of hate crimes/sarc.

[truthguy]

Okay Freepers here's the general rule (most of you know this already). This is true the vast majority of the time:

If you do not see pictures of the victim and the accused, then there is a high degree of certainly that the victim was white and the accused is black.

If you see pictures of the victim, and not the accused, the victim is black and the accused is almost always black.

If the victim is black and the accused is white (extremely rare) , there is an almost 100 per cent certainly that you will see pictures.

[sportutegrl]

It won’t be long before the ‘free the Jena 6’ crowd comes out protesting these ‘innocent youths’ being arrested.

[hosepipe]

BUZZZZ.. Its time for a good ol' vigilante.. I remember that vigilante fella in New York City.. What a guy..

WHAT IF... somebody that was not a moron.. gave the criminals something to think about.. ala!.. Death Wish.. the movie.. Sure the media would go nutz unril the vigilants started targeting SOME OF THEM... You know to give those in the medis SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT..

While were at it.. dealing with the gangs in our citys would be good training ground for our special forces people.. Would be very good training for dealing with terrorists.. ADD in a vigilante and VIOLA!.. we would have some drama for the TV news hour.. TV anchors looking over their shoulders and muggers afraid to go out of the house.. NOW I'd call that entertainment..

[twigs]

Yes. hoever, there was another similar crime in Philly several days ago near where this one took place. The victim in that attack was black.

[truthguy]

Correction from truthguy:

certainity and not certainly (typo)!

[MaxMax]

And I'll bet one of those teens used a phone camera to tape it.
Soon to be leaked. IMO

[DeLaine]

I didn’t know how to deal with my loss either, but you know what? I didn’t attack and kill ONE PERSON!!! Not one!

[Gritty]

... Ameer Best, 17,... Arthur Alston, 16,... Rasheem Bell, 16,... Nashir Fisher, 16,... Kinta Stanton, 16,

I can just hear the mothers on TV outside the courtroom during the hearings now,.... "My baby he be a good boy. He neva' done nuthin' wrong!"

[null and void]

...yet...

[Leisler]

"Remembered as a quiet, generous man, Conroy grew up in Upper Darby, lived in California for several years, then returned to the region and settled in South Philadelphia. Three days before he was killed, he had become engaged to be married."

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080403_Four_more_Gratz_teens_charged_in_subway_death.html

Outside Gratz yesterday afternoon, four students said they noticed the commotion as one officer in uniform and several others in plainclothes came into the school to make the arrests. A youth who would give his name only as Ty said he was walking into school when a teacher called out, "Turn around!" Ty stopped on stairs and stepped back as a procession of police went past. He could tell they had someone in custody, but he couldn't tell who.
"I've never seen no cop come into the school and take somebody out," he said yesterday, wondering which of his classmates had been arrested. "We probably know every last one of them."
Ty, 15, said he was interested to know whether the youth already in custody had identified the other alleged killers.
"Me personally, the way I was raised, I wouldn't snitch," he said.