A fugitive's long run finally ends in S. Korea
Ten years after he was charged in an Olney murder, David "Solid" Nam was captured last week.
He survived the Great Depression, the Normandy invasion, and even more combat in Europe during World War II. Anthony Schroeder then returned to Philadelphia and quietly lived alone in an Olney rowhouse.
He fought his final battle at his home, in the 5500 block of North Fourth Street, at age 77. In the middle of an August night in 1996, he drew down with a .25-caliber handgun at a home invader. The gunman, carrying a .22-caliber rifle, fired first and fatally.
"He was the nicest person and a caring person," said Schroeder's niece, Ruth Albrecht, who lives in Gloucester County.
His death went unnoticed by the media, as did the arrests of the alleged gunman, David "Solid" Nam, then 19, and three teenage accomplices.
But Schroeder's death did not slip by law enforcement authorities. They prosecuted the teens and doggedly pursued an international hunt for Nam, who jumped bail in 1998 and fled to South Korea, where he was captured last week.
The arrest surprised Schroeder's relatives, who had only just learned that high-level political figures in the United States and South Korea were involved.
"I think the good Lord may have had a hand in this also, the way everything is synchronizing," Albrecht said. "I'm just so thrilled."
It is not clear, authorities say, how long the extradition of Nam - who had married in South Korea, fathered children, and taught English outside Seoul using a bogus name until his arrest Tuesday - will take. If he fights, U.S. officials may have to pursue lengthy legal proceedings in South Korea.
Although Schroeder, who retired from Acme after working there about 30 years, never married and loved his independence, he was like a second father to his nieces and nephews, Albrecht said.
Many years ago, he was robbed in his home. His relatives wanted him to move in with one of them, Albrecht said. Instead, he bought the handgun for protection.
In the wee hours of Aug. 16, 1996, Schroeder left his front door open as he watched television in the living room. He grabbed his handgun when he heard bandits outside.
Police said Nam, a member of a violent Asian street gang that had been terrorizing senior citizens, charged the home with two other teenagers as a fourth teen kept lookout.
The accomplices testified in court that Nam ordered Schroeder to get down. Instead, Schroeder tried to shoot, but his gun didn't fire.
The accomplices were caught first. They identified Nam as the gunman. All confessed and pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy. Nam, it seemed, was heading to trial and facing the death penalty.
District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham said last week that prosecutors feared Nam would flee when a judge, despite their recommendation that no bail be set, put the figure at $1 million in May 1997. Nam was freed Jan. 12, 1998, when his father paid a $100,000 bond - 10 percent of the bail.
Nam managed to get a passport and fled to South Korea, where his parents were born.
He was arrested just outside Seoul, but was freed after successfully arguing that he could not be deported because the United States had no extradition treaty with South Korea.
In Center City, Abraham started an international campaign. She called U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, then chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who won passage of an extradition treaty. She also contacted then-U.S. Ambassador Thomas Foglietta, a former Philadelphia lawmaker, who had been friends with the Korean president.
"It is my considered judgment that your special relationship with the South Korean government and other influential people there would be very meaningful," Abraham wrote to Foglietta.
The South Korean government sought a meeting with American investigators, and FBI Agent Kevin McShane and Supervising Narcotics Agent Kwang "Sonny" Shin from the Attorney General's Office flew over. South Korean officials agreed to the hunt.
When police confronted Nam last week, he denied he was the accused killer, even though his name was tattooed on his arm.
Abraham vowed to bring him back.
"We'll do whatever we have to do . . . to assure his safe return to the United States to face these murder charges," she said.