A 25-year-old man, who was shot in his South Philadelphia home early yesterday as he lay sleeping next to his girlfriend and 3-year-old daughter, was one of four victims of violent crime this weekend among those critically injured in four violent crimes this weekend. Three other people in other cases died from their injuries — one after being beaten by a one-time friend and the other who was shot after attempting an armed robbery of a victim who was carrying his own gun. About 4:30 a.m. yesterday, police said, an unknown number of people kicked down the back door to a house on Pierce Street near 17th and shot the 25-year-old resident and a 19-year-old unidentified male friend in his house, said Det. John Ruth, of South Detectives.

The woman and child sharing a bed with the resident escaped unharmed, he said. The 19-year-old male, who was wounded in the stomach and buttocks, remains in intensive care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The 25-year-old victim, shot in his leg and buttocks, was in surgery last night at HUP. Police said they have been unable to interview either victim because of ongoing medical treatment, but the home did not appear to be otherwise ransacked. A firearm, believed to belong to the resident, was found in the upstairs bedroom where he was shot, Ruth said. Just hours earlier, about 1:15 a.m. on 52nd Street near Florence Avenue, in the Kingsessing section, three men were approached by two armed, 17-year-old males who attempted to rob them, Homicide Sgt. Tim Cooney said.

One of the victims, who had a permit to carry his own, concealed weapon, pulled a gun on his teen attackers — shooting one twice in the chest and the other two times in the arm, Cooney said. The young man shot in the chest was taken to HUP, where he was pronounced dead at 1:55 a.m. His accomplice remains at the same hospital in stable condition, police said. Homicide and Southwest detectives are working together to determine if the duo was involved in previous robberies.

Cooney said the District Attorney’s Office will review the case, but as of now, the victim who shot his alleged robbers isn’t facing charges. In Grays Ferry on Saturday night, an Allentown man allegedly beat and strangled his one-time friend to death — possibly, with his own hands. The attack occurred around about 10:30 p.m. on Wilder Street near 26th at the home of the victim, Anthony Williams, 37, police said. According to Cooney, Raymond Armstrong, 31, showed up at Williams’ house “distraught and upset.” Williams managed to get his friend inside the home, where an argument ensued, police said. Williams was pronounced dead en route to Methodist Hospital at 10:50 p.m.

The cause of death has been listed as blunt-force trauma and strangulation. Armstrong has been charged with murder but has not been charged with possessing instruments of a crime. That could mean that he used only his hands in the alleged attack, a source said. And last night, an unidentified 24-year-old man died as a result of a gunshot wound to the hip, said a homicide detective. He was shot by a gunman at 13th Street near Fairmount Avenue, about 7 p.m. and was pronounced dead at Hahnemann University Hospital shortly before 10 p.m., police said. They reported no arrests.

I'm surprised this didn't kick up a little bit more controversy. Smokin' Joe Frazier's daughter, Jacquelyn Frazier-Lyde, is a city municipal court judge. She found herself in quite a pickle Thursday when she down-graded charges against a man who allegedly punched a cop in the throat, and then directed a wise crack at the clearly upset officer. An excerpt from the story Wendy Ruderman and I did:

It's a scenario that plays out again and again in courtrooms all over the city. Johnson and other cops say they've almost come to expect judges to toss out the felony charge in police-assault cases.

But in rendering her decision, Frazier-Lyde made remarks that left Johnson fuming.

According to Johnson and others in the courtroom, Frazier-Lyde said something like: "It's open season on all of us and we don't got guns and vests."

Frazier-Lyde's comment came after the prosecutor implored her to keep the felony charge against Jeminez, particularly in light of Tuesday's slaying of Officer Patrick McDonald, according to those in the courtroom.

"Your Honor, it's open season on police," said Assistant District Attorney Chaka Johnson, who is not related to Officer Johnson.

"That boiled my blood so bad, I had to walk out," said Mark Johnson, an eight-year veteran who works in the 35th Police District, with headquarters at Broad and Champlost streets in Ogontz.

Chaka Johnson told the judge that the law dictates that cops, teachers and nurses are in a "protected class," which means perpetrators who strike them are automatically charged with a felony.

Frazier-Lyde suggested that the law is unfair to all those who live in crime-ridden neighborhoods - like the area of 17th and Colorado, where McDonald was killed - according to those in the courtroom.

To read the rest, click here.

Crazy night tonight, folks. The Police Department held its collective breath when a veteran sergeant was found unconscious in his patrol car in North Philadelphia at about 6:45 p.m.

Mayor Nutter and Police Commissioner Chuck Ramsey emerged from Temple University Hospital shortly before 9 to deliver the news: Sgt. Andrew Stackwicz, 57, was in critical condition after he suffered an apparent heart attack. He was undergoing tests in an ICU and appeared to be responsive, the mayor said.

Stackwicz is a 26-year-old veteran who works in the 22nd District. He was out on a patrol when a citizen spotted him in his cruiser. Nutter -- visibly relieved that he didn't have to once again address the loss of an officer --  praised the unidentified resident, who called 9-1-1 and even waited with Stackwicz until help arrived. Nutter said four cops performed CPR on the married father of two on the ride up to the hospital, probably saving his life in the process.

There was a sigh of relief amongst the press and a handful of passersby who grew nervous when they saw a collection of cop cars jam the entrance of the hospital for the second time this week.

But all was not calm in the neighborhood surrounding the hospital. When I first got up to Temple around 7 o'clock, a loud argument started to unfold on the 1200 block of Russell Street, which sits about 50 feet away from the hospital's rear driveway. The argument eventually turned physical, and the dozen or so participants started to scream and take swings at each other. A single 25th District cop tried to sort out the melee, only to find himself surrounded and shouted down. A pair of quick-thinking cops noticed their out-numbered brother and rushed to his side. The turmoil was quieted -- for just a little while.

From there, things got surreal. At about 8:30, while reporters aimlessly shuffled along the sidewalk outside the hospital and cops leaned against a wrought iron fence, noodling with their cell phones, a familiar sound filled the night air. Pop-pop-pop. Firecrackers, maybe? 'Fraid not. The Russell Street slapfest had just turned into a gunfight.

A woman screamed out from the street, "He's shooting! He's shooting!" as the reporters and cameramen realized they were in the middle of a whole different type of live shot. Within seconds, a wave of blue poured out of the hospital and flooded Russell Street. There were more stories than neighbors: "She stabbed my sister and he shot her," said one woman. "I saw the man shooting right here, in front of the house," cried another man. An ambulance tore down the street as cops searched the street for shell casings and victims.

Eventually, a verdict came back from the chaos: no one had been shot, although it appeared one woman -- who was walked across the street to the hospital in cuffs and a blood-stained t-shirt -- had been stabbed. "Just a little thing we call a disturbance in the city," one cop said.

Indeed.

For the past four years, Patrick McDonald spent part of his spare time as a member of the Philadelphia Blue Flame, a police football team that plays other big city police and fire department squads to raise money for charities.

The former standout at Archbishop Ryan fit right in with tough cops on the team. "He was as intense as they come, hard-nosed with a desire to succeed and win every time he stepped on the field," said Mike McKay, the coach of the Blue Flame.

McDonald's high point on the team came about three years ago, when he scored an 18-yard rushing touchdown against a team of Los Angeles police officers during a game in Northeast Philadelphia. "Man, he was thrilled that day," McKay said. The coach said McDonald and his girlfriend, Joanne Heary, a police officer assigned to the 15th District in Northeast Philadelphia, often took opposing team members out to dinner after a game. "She went to every one of his games and followed us when we went to different cities," McKay said. "They were a great couple." 

Joe Hansbury, a veteran cop assigned to the 8th District in the far Northeast, played alongside McDonald on the Blue Flame. "Everyone liked to be around him. We love him and we miss him. This whole thing is horrible, and it makes everyone sick to their stomach," he said. "He was always there for us." 

"When you think about what these guys do everyday and the dangers they face, it's just brutal," McKay added.

McDonald will be laid to rest Tuesday at Resurrection Cemetery in Bensalem after a funeral mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul.

Joseph Kaczmarek

This is an image that we're getting all too accustomed to seeing -- scores of motorcycle cops escorting a hearse carrying a body of a fallen Philadelphia police officer.

Like everyone else in the city, our thoughts tonight are with the family of Highway Patrol Officer Patrick McDonald.

I got out to Morrell Park earlier today long before the full shock of Officer Patrick McDonald's murder had taken hold of his tiny Northeast Philly neighborhood. Many of his neighbors were just getting home from work and seemed to have no idea why some people were standing on their steps, sobbing. A few were kind enough to talk with me about what Patrick meant to his friends and loved ones. This is their story:

FOR MUCH of the past 30 years, Patrick McDonald was the heart of Morrell Park.
At first glance, he was like a lot of guys from the tiny, tidy Northeast Philadelphia enclave — a tough, hard-nosed son of a fireman.
But as the years wore on, McDonald’s friends watched in wonder as other qualities emerged.
He proved to be kind and generous, and had a knack for leadership — attributes that seemed to grow even stronger when he joined the Police Department eight years ago.
His neighbors — who were thrilled a few years ago when he bought the house he grew up in — considered him their son, brother, protector.
Yesterday, they wept for their fallen hero.
Word spread quickly up and down the winding, neatly manicured streets of Morrell Park after McDonald, 30, was fatally shot in North Philadelphia yesterday afternoon.
The neighborhood has long been home to cops and firefighters, many of whom stopped what they were doing and ran outside to mourn together outside McDonald’s home on Whitehall Lane near Crown Avenue.
One woman stopped on the sidewalk when she learned of McDonald’s murder and cried out, “Pat’s dead! Oh, God, no!” Other neighbors quickly rushed to her side and joined in a tearful embrace.
“Everybody’s devastated. He was the heart of this neighborhood,” said Steve Mentusky, a longtime friend who has spent much of the past year renovating McDonald’s childhood home.
“It’s going to be weird not seeing him coming out in the morning and getting on his police motorcycle. We’re going to be crying around here for days.”

McDonald, a 1996 Archbishop Ryan High School graduate, made a name for himself as an undersized lineman who played through the pain on his high school football team.
In 1995, McDonald earned second-team All-Catholic honors from the coaches in the Catholic League Northern Division.
“He always gave his all. After games, he’d be totally drained. Really beat up,” said his old coach, Glen Galeone.
“I remember that he played with a knee brace. Maybe even had a small tear in there. But you couldn’t keep the kid off the field. That’s how determined he was.”
McDonald’s father, Larry, retired from the Fire Department as a captain in 2004.
Neighbors said he was especially close to his mother, Patricia, and sister, Megan.
We grew up together. He had a huge heart and was like a brother to everyone around here,” said Sean Flanagan.
Mentusky said McDonald had a top-shelf gym installed in his basement and a bar and a big-screen TV put on his back-yard deck.
“On Sundays,” Flanagan said, “everyone around here would go to his house to watch Eagles games. He didn’t care who you were, as long as you liked the Eagles.” 
McDonald — an avid weight lifter — added a sense of security in many of his neighbors’ minds.“We felt so protected to live on his street,” said Barbara Covello, as she wiped tears from her eyes. “This just can’t be true.”
As the afternoon wore on, cops and curious passersby visited McDonald’s block and paid respects.
A female cop hysterically sobbed when she broke the news of McDonald’s slaying to her father, who lived next door to McDonald.
“They shot him in the head and chest,” she cried, as other neighbors stood back and quietly wept.

McDonald spent three years taking night and weekend classes at St. Joseph’s University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 2005.
“He did love being a cop, and was thrilled when they put him in Highway Patrol about four years ago,” said Cheltenham Police Sgt. Dan Farley, who met McDonald in a St. Joe’s criminal justice class.
“He was dedicated. I expected him stay a cop and move up the ranks over time. I was pretty well stunned when I heard what happened to him,” said Farley, whose brother is a Philadelphia police detective.
Highway Patrol Capt. Michael Cochrane reflected on the slain officer last night, while he and other cops waited to escort McDonald’s body to a funeral home.
“He was a great cop, always running somebody down. This is a tremendous loss for us all,” Cochrane said.

And in Oberlton's mind, a years-long grudge against the man, who supposedly stole his girl, was settled, said family members of Derrickson.

Yesterday, authorities issued a warrant for Oberlton's arrest after several witnesses came forward to identify him in Tuesday's attack in an underground subway concourse, said Capt. Sharon Seaborough of Central Detectives.

Oberlton, 25, who's still on the loose, has no permanent address and should be considered dangerous, she said.

For entire story, click here.

Not a whole lot to post on these cases yet, but here's what we have so far. Homicide detectives are investigating two murders tonight that occurred in separate parts of the city.

The first came in at about 8:40 p.m., when investigators said a 25-year-old man -- whose name was not released -- was found fatally shot on Bouvier Street near Jefferson in North Philly. About two hours later, an unidentified man was found shot dead on Thayer Street near G in Kensington. Police had no motives or suspects in either slaying.

This one will leave you reaching for the Advil.

Taariq Ali is a 43-year-old inmate who was sentenced to life in prison in Delaware back in 1995 for attempted murder. He was sent out to a prison in California to serve a portion of his sentence as part of a cost-saving, inmate sharing program called the Interstate Corrections Compact.

On Friday, Taariq was on his way back to Delaware to serve out the rest of his sentence. He got off a flight at Philly International just before midnight with an escort guard from Prisoner Transport Services of America (PTSA). Taariq's wrists were handcuffed to his waist. This, of course, is where it got tricky.

John Painter, a spokesman for the Delaware State Department of Corrections, said Ali -- shackles an' all -- managed to run away from his escort guard. To paraphrase Forrest Gump, he just kept runnin' and runnin' and runnin'. PTSA inexplicably didn't notify Delaware corrections officials about the escape until Sunday. Taariq remains on the loose, and the US Marshals and Philadelphia Police Department have now joined the chase.

Stay tuned, dear readers, for more.