HOMICIDE ON SOUTH ADAMS

At 00:10, Chester County 9-1-1 recieved a report of a shooting at 317 South Adams Street, with WCPD, GFAC, and Medic 91 responding to the scene. Sgt. Jeffery Ditz requested the medics to expedite as the patient was unconsious upon his arrival. EMS arrived on the scene and requested PennSTAR #2 to fly the victim, with Engine 52-1 establishing the landing zone at the Goodwill Fire Company parking lot. Once the ambulance arrived on scene, however, the flight crew from PennSTAR reported the patient was going into cardiac arrest and was immediately transported by GFAC to Chester County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Back on South Adams, reports indicated that officers were searching for 2 males, possibly hispanic, with one wearing a black shirt and one possibly wearing a red bandana. A K-9 from Tredyffrin arrived on scene and searched the area around the National Foam Company and an industrial property to the north of the scene with negative results. Multiple police units also assisted in the search, which was still active as of 01:30 this morning.

Assisting WCPD in the investigation were West Goshen Police, Westtown-East Goshen Police, West Chester University Public Safety, Tredyffrin Police K-9, Chester County Detectives, GFAC, Medic 91, and WCFD/Goodwill Fire Co.

Though it's not officially been confirmed by investigators at this point, it would not be surprising at all if drugs were at the heart of the dispute. A couple of months ago, a man was held for trial on charges of drug possession with intent to distribute where one of the alleged sales to an undercover officer or informant took place on that block. On May 4 in District Court 15-1-04, Christian Oliveras, 21, was held for charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance With Intent to Deliver, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphanalia, and Criminal Use of a Communication Facility after an undercover State Trooper testified that an confidential informant had twice gone to the Adams Street location to purchase narcotics from the defendant. (15-1-04, CR-0000127-07; CP-15-CR-0001899-2007).

Oliveras had been free on 10 percent of $50,000 bail as of last night; he was scheduled for trial in front of Judge Strietel next week on an separate case where he faced two counts of Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance, two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance, and one count of Possession of Drug Paraphanalia in a case filed by WCPD narcotics officers (CP-15-CR-0002946-2006). There had been a motion to consolidate the two cases into a single case, though there's no indication as to whether or not the cases in fact will be heard together.

[The Daily Local News confirmed what I had suspected that Oliveras was in fact the murder victim. Police officials and prosecutors confirmed in today's editions that drugs played a role in the murder, as if that was a shock.]

District Attorney Joe Carroll and his chief deputy DA Patrick Carmody were on scene, along with Lt. Jeff Johnson and at least two county detectives. I wouldn't be shocked if more details end up coming out as the days progress, but there must be something more to it when the top two prosecutors in the county and two of that office's detectives show up on scene...

This wrapped up an unusually violent weekend in the borough, one that hasn't struck in the nearly 12 years that I've lived here. Here's hoping this isn't a sign of things to come...