Girls to be tried as adults in Temple attacks

ONE GIRL lives in Wissahickon, another in West Philly and a third in Overbrook - in other words, nowhere near Temple University, where they're accused of assaulting three women in a 20-minute span Friday.

Najee Bilaal, 16; Zaria Estes, 15; and Kanesha Gainey, 15, will be tried as adults on charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and related offenses in those attacks, the District Attorney's Office said yesterday.

In the most savage attack, authorities said, Estes allegedly smashed a brick into the face of a 19-year-old Temple student during a scuffle with the woman and her boyfriend on Norris Street near 17th.

Police still weren't sure how the girls knew each other or what sparked the attacks. Capt. Frank Banford of Central Detectives said the girls traveled to and from the Temple area via public transportation.

Where they reside, however, is clear:

Bilaal lives in a rowhouse on Ithan Street near Walnut in West Philadelphia. Her brother - whose identity the Daily News is withholding because he is a minor - answered the door and referred comment to their mother, Chinara. She didn't return a call for comment last night.

Gainey lives a few miles away, at the Liberty Tower apartments on 63rd Street near Lebanon Avenue in Overbrook. No one answered the door there yesterday.

Nor did anyone answer the door at the Rock Hill Court apartments, on Rock Street near Righter in Wissahickon, where Estes lives.

The girls remained in custody last night, with bail set at $100,000 each for Bilaal and Estes, and at $75,000 for Gainey, police said. They face a preliminary hearing April 10.