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Two brothers charged with killing Philly cop waive hearing

With more than 200 Philadelphia police officers packing the courtroom behind them, the two brothers charged with killing Philadelphia Police Officer Robert Wilson III during a March 5 robbery waived their preliminary hearing Wednesday.

Carlton Hipps, 29, (left) and his brother Ramone Williams, 24, (right) are charged in the fatal shooting of Philadelphia police officer Robert Wilson III.
Carlton Hipps, 29, (left) and his brother Ramone Williams, 24, (right) are charged in the fatal shooting of Philadelphia police officer Robert Wilson III.Read more

With more than 200 Philadelphia police officers packing the courtroom behind them, the two brothers charged with killing Philadelphia Police Officer Robert Wilson III during a March 5 robbery waived their preliminary hearing Wednesday.

The decision by Carlton Hipps, 29, and Ramone Williams, 25, to let their cases proceed directly to trial aborted a hearing that had been expected to last most of the day.

Nevertheless, Assistant District Attorneys Brian Zarallo and Brendan O'Malley spent about 15 minutes outlining for Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Teresa Carr Deni the evidence they would have presented.

That evidence included ballistics findings linking the head shot that killed Wilson, 30, an officer for eight years and father of two young sons, to a black-and-silver Ruger .40-caliber pistol allegedly carried by Williams.

Two more of Wilson's six bullet wounds were also potentially fatal, Zarallo said. Both shots hit Wilson's back, one allegedly fired by Williams and the other by the Glock .40-caliber pistol Hipps allegedly carried.

Zarallo said crime-scene officers recovered 39 fired cartridge casings at the GameStop store at 21st Street and Lehigh Avenue where Wilson was killed. Fourteen casings came from the Ruger and seven from the Glock.

"The officer managed to get off a few shots before he collapsed," Zarallo said.

The decision by defense lawyers Andres Jalon and Michael Coard to avoid a preliminary hearing had one major tactical benefit: keeping out of the public eye - and away from potential jurors - what has been described as an unusually clear, graphic surveillance video depicting the shootout.

It was about 5 p.m. on a snowy March 5 when Wilson asked his partner, Officer Damien Stevenson, to stop at GameStop so he could buy a new PlayStation 4 and game for his son, 9. It was a combination birthday gift and reward for doing well in school.

While Stevenson stayed outside in the cruiser, Wilson went in and was being waited on when two gunmen entered and started shooting. Wilson returned fire but, with nowhere to duck or cover, was hit by six shots and collapsed.

After the 30-second gun battle, Zarallo said, Hipps tried to run, exchanged shots with Stevenson, and was wounded in the leg.

Williams was arrested hiding behind the store counter with employees, and he tried to convince police he also worked there. The Ruger pistol was found on the floor behind the counter with a black hoodie Williams allegedly took off and dropped.

After the hearing, Coard and Jalon said they would focus on developing mitigating evidence to try to dissuade the District Attorney's Office from seeking the death penalty.

Coard, Williams' lawyer, has already brought in criminal defense lawyer Trevan Borum to begin the mitigation investigation and said he would seek help from the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit legal group.

District Attorney Seth Williams said he was still considering whether to seek the death penalty against the Brewerytown brothers. Williams said his office's death-penalty review committee should have a recommendation this year and will hear from the defense.

"It's clear the required aggravating factors are in this case," Williams said, referring to the legal criteria needed to seek a death sentence.

215-854-2985@joeslobo

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