Guilty plea in slaying of cellphone thief

Kareem El stole cellphones, a lot of them, and from repeat victims, including the guys he played basketball with in North Philadelphia.

On Monday, one of those men admitted being the gunman who lost one phone too many to El and fired five shots into him, killing the 29-year-old as he drove on the Schuylkill Expressway early on Easter morning, April 8, 2012.

James R. Alston, 31, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, conspiracy, and two gun charges on what was to have been the start of jury selection in his Common Pleas Court trial.

Judge Barbara A. McDermott immediately sentenced Alston to the 271/2- to 60-year prison term negotiated by Assistant District Attorney Brendan O'Malley and defense attorney W. Fred Harrison Jr.

Alston, who had balked at the plea deal Thursday, did not speak before being sentenced.

Brent Coleman, 26, pleaded guilty earlier to driving the car that pulled alongside El's silver 1997 Buick LeSabre as it headed east near the Montgomery Drive exit. Coleman was sentenced to 121/2 to 25 years in prison.

O'Malley said the slaying had "one of the most clear-cut motives we ever see. He had stolen cellphones from all these guys - and more than once. They told him, 'We know what you're doing. Give back the phones or at least pay us.' "

O'Malley said all three men had been clubbing on Girard Avenue into the morning of the slaying. When El left with a woman, Coleman and Alston followed.

El apparently realized he was being followed because he got off the westbound expressway at East Falls and then got back on heading east, O'Malley said.

O'Malley said Coleman pulled his car alongside the Buick, and Alston fired at least five shots into the car. One shot hit El in the head and instantly killed him. The woman, who was not wounded, managed to grab the wheel and steer the car to the shoulder without crashing into any other vehicles.

State police did not believe the shooting was random, but had no suspects.

Then on May 18, 2012, Alston was arrested in Philadelphia in a separate shooting and police seized his CZ 75 9mm pistol. O'Malley said the pistol was registered to Coleman and ballistics tests showed it was used to kill El.

Coleman cooperated with police, O'Malley said, and in January 2013 both men were charged in El's slaying.

O'Malley said El had a reputation for stealing cellphones: "When they searched his car, they found a cellphone in the trunk stolen from a guy who didn't even realize it was gone."