3 are killed in weekend violence

Three men were killed in the city this weekend, raising the young year's homicide tally to 18.

Among the victims was a teen who testified as a witness in a murder trial with racial overtones three years ago, a homicide detective confirmed.

Brian Crosland, 18, of Taney Street near Montgomery Avenue in Northwest Philadelphia, was discovered near his home with a single gunshot wound to his head about 4:25 a.m. yesterday, police said.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

As of last night, police had not identified any suspects or made any arrests in his murder.

In August 2007, Crosland was one of five teens who testified as a prosecution witness in the of their friend Quinzell McCall, then 17, in the death of 17-year-old Robert Pierson.

According to testimony, the six black teens had gone to the Art Museum district with the intention of robbing and beating up white people on March 23, 2006.

After the group allegedly threw a bottle into a home, a group of Fairmount teens, including Pierson, who was white, gave chase and fighting ensued.

Pierson hit one of the teens on the head with a glass bottle, prompting McCall to shoot him three times, police and prosecutors said.

Pierson died within three weeks of the shooting.

A jury found McCall not guilty of the murder, but he was convicted of weapons offenses, for which he was sentenced to three-to-eight years in prison.

Meanwhile, there was a fatal stabbing about 8:30 a.m. on Bambrey Street near Somerset in North Philadelphia.

A 52-year-old man was stabbed twice in the chest. He was pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital, according to police.

Authorities did not release his name, nor did they release the name of the person believed to have stabbed him, though police said they know who they are seeking.

About 10:20 p.m. Saturday in Kingsessing, on Beaumont Avenue near 55th Street, police said a 28-year-old man was shot numerous times to his head and right arm.

He was pronounced dead at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania at 10:49 p.m.

Police, who are not releasing the man's identity pending family notification, said the motive for the killing appeared to be robbery.

A 19-year-old man continued to fight for his life, after being shot multiple times in the chest about 1:30 a.m. yesterday on Ellsworth Street near Broad, South Philadelphia.

The teen, who was found in the middle of Ellsworth Street, remains in critical condition at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, police said.

Meanwhile, police released the identities of two victims and a gunman in three Friday incidents.

Police identified a man who killed himself after he shot his ex-girlfriend outside of her Rhawnhurst apartment complex anout 7 a.m. Friday as Lenin Valdez, 34, of the Bronx, New York.

The 22-year-old woman, whose identity has not been released, remained in extremely critical condition at Aria Torresdale Hospital last night, police said.

Kenneth Rolon, 23, of Oakland Street near Oxford Avenue in Frankford, was identified as the victim of a 4 p.m. shooting Friday at Howard and Cambria streets in Kingsessing.

Four hours later, police said Tyree Parks, 18, of Wharton Street near 30th, in Grays Ferry, was shot in the head on 32nd Street near Dickinson in his neighborhood. He was pronounced dead within a half hour.