SnapGlow.TV: Modern Gems Galore! The woman accused of helping orchestrate the shootings of Rian Thal and Timothy Gilmore in the Piazza at Schmidts last month is expected to be arraigned tomorrow.
Police yesterday continued their search for the man believed to be behind the plot, a drug dealer who allegedly convinced girlfriend Katoya Jones to help him rob Thal.
"We know who we're looking for," said Police Capt. James Clark yesterday.
Jones, 25, was arrested Thursday and charged with murder, conspiracy, and related crimes.
Police said Jones, who lives five floors down from Thal's seventh-floor apartment in the Piazza's Navona building in Northern Liberties, let the gunmen and the lookout man into the lobby about a half-hour before the June 27 killings.
Thal, 34, who worked as a party planner at several city nightclubs, also stored drugs for people in her home, according to one law enforcement source. Police found four kilograms of cocaine and more than $100,000 in cash in Thal's apartment after she was killed.
Gilmore, 40, of Ohio, is believed to have been a drug associate of Thal's. Gilmore used his trucking business as a drug front, one law enforcement source said, often dropping off his legitimate cargo before coming to Philadelphia with a supply of drugs.
The dealer who is being sought by police knew Thal had drugs and likely sent the four men into Thal's building to rob her, investigators have said.
The attack, including the stakeout of Thal's apartment, was captured on multiple security cameras. Those cameras recorded Jones as she walked into the lobby, followed by one of the gunmen. Later, that man let in several others, and three men waited near Thal's apartment until she and Gilmore returned to the building.
Three men cornered Thal and Gilmore in the hall, and after a few words were exchanged the men opened fire, shooting Thal and then Gilmore. They left without taking anything, and police have not been able to identify them.
Police would like to talk to an associate of Gilmore's who was inside Thal's apartment when the killings took place. Cameras recorded him as he left afterward, taking with him a large duffel bag that police suspect was filled with drugs.
Police began interviewing Jones after they saw her on the security cameras, Clark said. Eventually, he said, Jones admitted she was involved.
Contact staff writer Allison Steele at 215-854-2641 or asteele@phillynews.com.
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