Trial set for four men charged in deadly drug-house shooting in Philadelphia

Posted 10:01AM on Monday 13th May 2002 ( 23 years ago )

PHILADELPHIA - The massacre began after four teen-agers sold crack for $3 a packet instead of the going rate of $5, police said. The sellers who were being undercut allegedly responded by bursting into their rivals' drug house on Dec. 28, 2000, lining up the 10 people inside and methodically shooting them. Seven people were killed and three were injured in what was Philadelphia's worst shooting in decades. Jury selection was to begin Monday in the four suspects' trial. The defendants, who are all in their early 20s, have each been charged with seven counts of murder. Prosecutors have previously said they would seek the death penalty for the suspects: Jermel Lewis, Quiante Perrin, Hezekiah Thomas and Sacon Youk. The victims and defendants had connections in many cases. One of the victims had bailed Lewis out of jail the day before the slaughter. And the family of the youngest victim, 15-year-old Samuel "Malik" Harris, shared a duplex with Perrin and his family. Perrin paid his respects at the Harris house and went to the funeral. "All along one of the guys that did this to my brother was in our face," said Shanel Harris, the victim's sister. Several key pretrial rulings will significantly shape the case, most notably the decision by Common Pleas Court Judge Gregory E. Smith to try all four suspects together. Lewis had asked to be tried separately. The testimony of the three survivors could also turn the tide. Yvette Long, who was shot several times, identified Youk and Perrin as two of the gunmen at a preliminary hearing last year. But Long admitted on cross-examination that she had "blocked out" their identities until her visits with a psychiatrist. With a gag order in place, prosecutors, defense lawyers and police declined to return phone messages seeking comment. The victims included Harris; George Porter Jr., 18; Tyrone Long Jr., 18; Calvin "C.J." Helton, 19; Edward Sudler, 44; Ronnette Abrams, 33; and Alfred Goodwin, 54. The older victims were addicts who went to the house to use drugs, police have said. Jury selection is expected to take two weeks, and the trial two months or more.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/5/202239