Judge reinstates murder charge against teen

An attempted murder charge was reinstated today against a North Philadelphia teen who shot and injured a Philadelphia Housing Authority officer in February.

Common Pleas Court Judge Benjamin Lerner restored the charge against Zahir Boddy-Johnson, 17, of the 2300 block of N. Diamond Street, after listening to arguments from both sides.

"The case is not even close. The defendant used a deadly weapon in a vital part of the policeman's body," Lerner said in rendering his decision.

Today's ruling by Lerner was required as a result of a March decision by Municipal Court Judge Deborah Shelten Griffin, who dropped the attempted murder against Boddy-Johnson and lowered his bail to $75,000. The bail initially was $5 million.

Lerner at a hearing in March raised Boddy-Johnson's bail to $750,000. Boddy-Johson remains in jail.

The dismissal of the attempted murder charge was strongly opposed by Assistant District Attorney Erica Wilson this morning.

Officer Craig Kelley, 49, was shot in the abdomen and is still recuperating from his injuries.

"As if that (the shot in the abdomen) was not enough, the defendant fired two more times at the officer," Wilson told the court.

Boddy-Johnson is accused of of shootingKelley, 49, in the left side during a robbery Feb. 17 at the Queen Lane Apartments in Germantown.

The weapon Boddy-Johnson allegedly used was an SKS assault rifle.

During a preliminary hearing last month, Griffin unexpectedly dropped the attempted-murder charge and reduced the original bail, set at $5 million, to $75,000. Griffin said the bail was excessive.

And, during that hearing, the judge agreed with Boddy-Johnson's lawyer, Michael Coard, that the teen had not intended to kill Kelley, just rob him of his laptop and handgun. As a result she dropped the attempted murder charge.