Meanwhile, the attorney for Will Hook, the man police have described as the mastermind of that failed drug robbery, plans to file a writ of habeas corpus today that seeks to have his client released from jail.
Hook, 40, surrendered to police July 13 to face a burglary charge. Two days later, while he was in custody, he was charged with the June 27 deaths of Rian Thal, 34, and Timothy Gilmore, 40.
Hook, being held without bail, was set to have a preliminary hearing last week, but the prosecution asked for the hearing to be continued.
Hook's attorney, Christopher Warren, said evidence supporting the murder charges should be aired in court or Hook should be released.
"It is my suspicion that they're delaying because they're trying to build a case they do not currently have," Warren said yesterday of the case authorities have been making.
He said he hoped to have a hearing sometime next week.
Police said Hook and another man, Robert Keith, 27, attempted to break into Thal's apartment hours before she and Gilmore were gunned down outside her seventh-floor unit at the complex's Navona building.
Hook and Keith kicked in the door of a vacant apartment one floor below Thal's about 4 a.m. June 27, police said.
Later that afternoon, Thal and Gilmore were confronted by three gunmen and killed. One man, Edward Daniels, 42, has been charged as one of the shooters.
Police have identified another suspect, Donnell Murchison, 33, as the main shooter, but he remains at large. The third gunman has not been identified.
Surveillance cameras captured the gunmen entering the building, lying in wait for Thal and Gilmore, and shooting them. At least two lookouts also remain at large.
Thal, a popular party planner, had four kilograms of cocaine and more than $100,000 in her apartment when she was killed.
Thal, who has at least two drug arrests on her record, has been described as involved in the drug underworld. Her exact role remains unclear, as does her relationship with Gilmore, a former Detroit firefighter living in Ohio.
On Friday, police arrested Langdon Scott, 25, the fifth person taken into custody in the case.
Scott was seen on surveillance going to Thal's apartment about an hour and 20 minutes before the shootings, Homicide Lt. Philip Riehl said yesterday.
Scott, who was carrying a Gap bag, might have been attempting to make a drug purchase or get into the apartment, Riehl said. He also was seen on surveillance in the building with Murchison and Daniels, but he was not one of the shooters, Riehl said.
Scott has been charged with robbery, burglary, and other charges.
In addition to Hook, Scott, Keith, and Daniels, police arrested Katoya Jones, 25, an acquaintance of Hook's who lives in the Navona building. She allowed one of the gunmen to follow her into the building.
Riehl said "five or six" more people could face charges in the case.
In addition to the unknown third gunmen and the lookouts, police are seeking an unidentified man seen leaving Thal's apartment after the shootings. He might be an associate of Gilmore's, police have said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
MOST POPULAR PHILLY.COM PHOTOS
Philly.com news blogs
Philly.com Promotions
