Doggy-doo clash turns fatal

UPDATED 6:30 A.M.: Philadelphia homicide detectives confirm they've made an arrest connected to a fatal shooting in the Tacony section over one neighbor's dog defecating on a neighbor's lawn.  The identification of the arrested man has not yet been released. Check back for details.

A SPAT between unidentified neighbors over dog feces turned violent in Tacony yesterday afternoon, and in the end a 47-year-old father lay dying of several gunshot wounds on a rowhouse porch.

His neighbor, a 27-year-old man who police said is the owner of the Chihuahua and the German shepherd involved, was arrested at the scene, on Torresdale Avenue near Hellerman Street.

At the time of his arrest, he was carrying a holstered 9mm semiautomatic pistol that police believe was the weapon used in the slaying, Chief Inspector Scott Small said.

"I seen them arguing, then from there a little scuffle," said neighbor Miguel Rivera, 37, who was walking by at the time. "Then I heard the shots."

The dispute over dog feces on neighbors' lawns had been ongoing between the men, police and neighbors said.

Several residents of the block said the dogs had defecated on their property as well.

"They both would let [the dogs] sh-- wherever they wanted," said Mike Primavera, 46, who's lived on the block 22 years.

Another neighbor, who identified himself only as Paul, said that instead of confronting his neighbor about it, he cleaned it up himself.

"There's dog s--- all over my lawn," he said. "But I'm not gonna argue over it. That's crazy."

Police who responded shortly after 4 p.m. found the victim with at least two gunshot wounds to his neck and several others throughout his body, Small said. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene at 4:25 p.m.

"Any type of argument or fight that's gonna lead to gunfire is a terrible thing," Small said.

There was a struggle over the weapon, Small said.

The man in custody had not been officially charged last night, but was expected to face murder charges, police said. Cops recovered six spent shell casings at the scene, Small said.

A red Valentine's heart decorated the door above where the man's body lay, an eerie reminder of the loved ones left behind by the city's 48th homicide victim of the year.

Neighbors said he and his wife had recently moved onto the block and had a 2-month-old baby.

"I can't believe it," said neighbor Patricia Batista, 58, shaking her head. "To take somebody's life over that."

After the slaying, neighbors gathered on porches and in the street, looking on as investigators combed the scene.

The alleged shooter's girlfriend, tears streaming down her face, alternately knelt with her head against a wrought-iron railing and paced a neighbor's porch.

She declined to comment, but neighbors and police sources said the alleged shooter was a former school police officer.

Small said the man had a permit to carry a firearm, but police were unsure whether it was valid.

"It's kind of ridiculous that a person has to lose his life over a dog," Rivera said.