No charges for Penn officers in 2010 shooting death

The District Attorney's Office has cleared four University of Pennsylvania police officers of wrongdoing in the death of a man during a shoot-out near several Penn dormitories in November.

Karl Sappleton, 18, of Juniata Park, fired first at police who were chasing him Nov. 21, the D.A.'s Office found.

The officers "were defending themselves when they fired back at Sappleton," the office said in a statement. "No criminal charges are warranted."

Police say Sappleton and accomplice Leslie Mosby carjacked a Cadillac at gunpoint near 50th and Arch Streets and sped away. Police spotted the stolen car shortly thereafter. The car then crashed into a barrier at 40th and Locust Streets, and Sappleton and Mosby began to run.

When Officers Benjamin Mauro, Fred Nichols, and Greg Everage and Sgt. David Adler gave chase, Sappleton opened fire, the D.A.'s Office said. The officers were not hit.

Sappleton was shot behind a city library at 40th and Walnut Streets.

Mosby was arrested about a block away and later charged with four counts of attempted murder, carjacking, robbery, and other crimes.