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Phila. cop killer paroled after serving minimum sentence

The man who police said killed Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski was under parole supervision for a 1996 Philadelphia robbery after serving the minimum of a 9- to 18-year prison sentence, according to state officials.

Howard Cain, 34, is alleged to have fired five shots from a high-powered Chinese SKS rifle at Liczbinski in a confrontation in Port Richmond after a bank robbery on Saturday.

Liczbinski, 39, later died at Temple University Hospital from multiple gunshot wounds. Cain, whose last known residence was in North Philadelphia, was cornered by police in Feltonville and fatally shot.

Police arrested Cain's alleged accomplice, Lavon T. Warner, 39, and are searching for a third man, Eric DeShann Floyd, 33, who is considered armed and dangerous.

Cain entered the state prison system on Nov. 12, 1997 to serve a 9- to 18-year sentence for robbery, said Susan McNaughton, spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections.

Just shy of nine years later - his minimum sentence - Cain was sent to Lycoming House, a halfway facility at 1712 Point Breeze Ave. in South Philadelphia, on Sept. 5, 2006, McNaughton said.

That followed a decision by the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole nine days earlier to grant Cain parole at his first hearing.

On Dec. 12 of that year, Cain walked out of Lycoming House a free man.

However, Cain was subject to parole supervision until the year 2015.

Leo Dunn, a spokesman for the parole board, said Cain's release was based on five considerations.

"First of all, his acceptance of responsibility for the offense committed," Dunn said. "His participation in and completion of prescribed institutional programs. The positive recommendation made by the Department of Corrections. His reported institutional behavior. And his placement in a community corrections residency."

Dunn did not know how frequently Cain was required to meet his parole officer, but Cain had to follow a series of requirements to maintain his freedom, including drug tests and avoidance of alcohol.

Overall, Dunn said, the board granted parole in 61 percent of its cases in March, the most recent month for which statistics were available.

The robbery sentence stemmed from a string of armed robberies of state liquor store in West and Southwest Philadelphia in 1996.

Cain, then 23 at the time of the robberies and listed as 5-feet 8-inches tall and weighing 167 pounds, was found guilty a year later in one case and pleaded guilty in another.

Cain also had a history of fighting and fleeing from the police, court records show.

In 1993, Cain stole a car in West Philadelphia and crashed it into a fence after a brief chase by police. He was sentenced to 11 and ½ to 23 months in city jail.

In 1996, he was stopped by police and reportedly began punching at the officers and then running away. He was caught and sentenced to no more than 23 months in city jail.

At various times when he was arrested, he gave aliases such as Cameron Washington, Howard View and Kevin G. Williams.

Cain appeared to move from address to address and did not have a job any of the times he was arrested. Court files show he attended West Philadelphia High School and got as far as the 11th grade. He later claimed to have received a GED.

He indicated in 1996 that he had a child who was not living with him.

Cain's alleged accomplices in Saturday's bank robbery also had prior convictions for robbery. Warner was sentenced in 1997 to 5 to 10 years. Floyd was sentenced to 1 to 5 years for a 1994 robbery.


Contact staff writer Robert Moran at 215-854-5983 or bmoran@phillynews.com.

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