Councilman Oh relieved that his accused assailant has surrendered

David Oh was out being a councilman — attending a rally at the Art Museum — when he heard that the man suspected of stabbing him in a failed robbery attempt just three days ago had turned himself in.

He was relieved — not for himself, but for the public.

"It was a crime of opportunity," Oh said, "and my concern was more that he would do it again to someone who was less fortunate."

Shawn Yarbray, 24, surrendered Saturday morning at Southwest Detectives and was expected to be arraigned late Saturday or early Sunday, said Lt. John Walker.

Yarbray has another criminal case pending for an auto-theft charge from 2016, court records show. The next trial date is in July and records show he was released on nonmonetary bail. He also was arrested in 2012 on robbery and related charges, including conspiracy to commit theft involving bodily injury, but those charges were dismissed after a complaining witness failed to show up for four separate hearings, records show.

He also was charged with robbery in 2010, according to a police source, but the disposition of that case is unknown.

Walker said that after police learned of Yarbray's identity late Friday night — through interviews with neighbors, the councilman, and Yarbray's family — they appealed to his family to have him turn himself in.

His family persuaded Yarbray to do that, Walker said.

"Everybody worked as a team to get this gentleman off the street so he doesn't harm anybody else," Walker said.

While police were still looking for Yarbray, they said he was considered "armed and dangerous."

Yarbray's last known address was in the 5900 block of Catharine Street, but police said that they did not believe he lived there and that he could have been homeless, given his unkempt appearance. He also had prior addresses in the same neighborhood as Oh, Walker said.

Oh was stabbed once in the side with a sharp shiv in an apparent robbery attempt late Wednesday outside his Southwest Philadelphia home in the 5800 block of Thomas Avenue, where he has lived for five decades.

Oh, treated at the hospital and released Thursday, returned to work Friday.

The councilman said he did not know Yarbray but hopes that if he is found guilty, he gets the help he needs in prison to address whatever underlying issues have caused him to turn violent. He said he was aware of Yarbray's prior arrests.

"He's not going down a good path, so his apprehension hopefully will be a thing that's ultimately good for him as well," Oh said.