Reward offered for homicide tips

Kevin Drinks was at work unloading furniture from a truck in North Philadelphia when he was shot dead on Dec. 10 around 6:30 p.m. on Girard Avenue near Watts Street.

Drinks, 50, had only been on the job for about a week, according to State Rep. W. Curtis Johnson, who called for the police department to ramp up its community policing efforts to deal with violent crime.

"Community policing requires beat cops on foot, bike patrols and ministations and electronic surveillance in high crime areas – all parts of a good community policing strategy that we need to get crime under control," he said.

However, police districts are already split into Public Service Areas — which are specific areas within each police district that officers work in to build relationships with neighbors.

Drinks's family, Thomas and the Citizens Crime Commission are offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the suspects in his murder.

Thomas called on businesses near the scene of the shooting to donate money to add to the reward being offered.

"We are all in this together and eradicating crime and violence in the city will take a joint effort," Thomas said.

Tipsters are asked to call the Citizens Crime Commission at (215) 546-6532.