Brothers charged in police killing tied to N. Philly stickup spree
Philadelphia prosecutors have charged the two brothers accused of killing Police Officer Robert Wilson III with committing a series of armed robberies in the same North Philadelphia area in the three months before Wilson was fatally wounded in a March 2015 robbery and shootout.
Philadelphia prosecutors have charged the two brothers accused of killing Police Officer Robert Wilson III with committing a series of armed robberies in the same North Philadelphia area in the three months before Wilson was fatally wounded in a March 2015 robbery and shootout.
Assistant District Attorney Brian Zarallo said Thursday that Carlton Hipps, 30, was charged with eight armed robberies and brother Ramone Williams, 26, with nine.
Zarallo said the pair, both being held without bail in Wilson's killing March 5, 2015, were officially charged last month, but the new cases only recently appeared on the court database.
Zarallo said he could not release specifics on the robberies until after the brothers' preliminary hearing, set for June 23 and 24 in Philadelphia Municipal Court.
Zarallo said the robberies involved businesses in the 22nd Police District in Northwest Philadelphia, the same area where Wilson was shot to death as he waited in line at the GameStop store at 2101 W. Lehigh Ave. in the Swampoodle section of North Philadelphia.
According to court documents, the pair were charged in armed robberies that took place Nov. 15, 19, and 26, and Dec. 9, 17, and 18 in 2014 and another Feb. 19, 2015. Only one of the robberies resulted in an injury, a Dec. 18 incident in which both men were charged with aggravated assault.
Michael Coard, Hipps' lawyer, said Hipps is innocent until proven guilty.
"The so-called evidence presents nothing more than mere allegations of robbery in which not one person was killed, shot, or even shot at. That doesn't sound like the actions of someone ultimately worthy of the death penalty," Coard added.
The District Attorney's Office has said it is considering seeking the death penalty for both men if they are found guilty of first-degree murder in Wilson's killing.
Williams' lawyer, Daniel R. Stevenson, declined to comment.
It was about 5 p.m. on a snowy March 5, 2015, when Wilson, 30, an officer for eight years and father of two young sons, asked his partner, Officer Damien Stevenson, to stop at GameStop so he could buy a new PlayStation 4 and game for his 9-year-old son. It was a combination birthday gift and reward for doing well in school.
While Stevenson stayed outside in the cruiser, Wilson went in and was being waited on when two gunmen entered and started shooting. Wilson returned fire but, with nowhere to duck or cover, was hit by six shots and collapsed.
After the 30-second gun battle, prosecutors said, Hipps tried to run, exchanged shots with Stevenson and was wounded in the leg.
Williams was arrested hiding behind the store counter with employees, who he allegedly - and unsuccessfully - tried to persuade to tell police he also worked there. A pistol was found on the floor behind the counter with a black hoodie that Williams allegedly took off and dropped.
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