Murder charges for woman who plowed car into crowd

A woman who allegedly plowed her car into a crowd after she was refused entrance to a North Philadelphia nightclub was arrested this morning and charged with murder, police said.

Sharonda Cheeves, 23, was turned away by security at Club Motivation, an after-hours dance hall also known as the Breakfast Club, early on the morning of September 4.

Police said bouncers refused to let Cheeves and her friend Jesslyn Williams into the club because they were drunk and carrying alcohol. Inside the huge nightspot, hundreds were celebrating at a weekly party called "Mini Ball Madness" for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered clubgoers.

Angry, Cheeves and Williams stormed away from the club firing shots and leaving a behind a trail of smashed car windows, police said.

They climbed into a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, and then drunk, Cheeves and Williams took turns circling the 2300 block of N. 8th Street. During one of the passes, the soused women struck and injured three people then fled the area, police said.

Cheeves, after dropping Williams off, returned alone. About 4 a.m., the Monte Carlo jumped a curb near the club and plowed into a crowd.

The car struck six people including the club's owner, Kadella "Mother Breakfast" Davis, according to the Philadelphia Gay News.

Cheeves and Williams were arrested soon after. One of the injured, Alisha Moore, 27, died of her injuries, police said.

After a "lengthy investigation," the District Attorney's office filed numerous criminal counts against the women. In addition to murder, Cheeves is charged homicide by vehicle, DUI, aggravated assault, leaving the scene and related offenses, District Attorney Seth Williams said.

Williams, 22, was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, DUI, leaving the scene of an accident and other charges, the district attorney said.