By Ralph Cipriano
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for BigTrial.net
How out of control is crime in Philadelphia under D.A. Larry Krasner?
On Wednesday night, some 90 minutes before some 500 citizens gathered at St. Monica's Church in South Philly to hold an anti-crime, an anti-Krasner rally, police were just a couple blocks away, investigating a home invasion.
Two masked men entered an apartment at the 1700 block of Wolf Street demanding money. They assaulted a 62-year-old man and ransacked the place. According to a police report, the robbers held a gun to the head of a 20-year-old woman who was a witness to the crime. Then they slashed the victim in the face and head with a knife and left him bleeding in a bedroom. The victim was transported to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he was reported to be heavily sedated in the ICU.
Meanwhile, one of the top law enforcement officials who spoke at the anti-crime, anti-Krasner rally, Anthony Voci, chief of the D.A.'s homicide unit, was himself the victim of an attempted robbery at 12:15 p.m. today in Center City, underneath the concourse of Dilworth Plaza.
A police report said that three young men approached Voci and demanded money.
"Bitch, you know you got two dollars. Give it to me."
When Voci refused, the trio ran off. Police were investigating the incident as an attempted robbery.
Voci was unharmed. He reportedly told police not to bother chasing the suspects because his boss, D.A. Larry Krasner, would probably just turn them loose anyway.
Kidding.
In the home invasion, the radio call came over at 4:54 p.m. Police were looking for two suspects; a 5-foot-5 black male nicknamed "Twin," dark-complexioned, in his 20s, wearing a black hoodie, black sweatpants, and a mask.
A second suspect was described as a 5-foot-4 white male, wearing blue jeans, a black hoodie, a green hat with white stripes and a mask.
If they are arrested, the two suspects should ask for a face-to-face meeting with their "Uncle Larry" over at the D.A.'s office. Krasner routinely meets with and advises crime suspects and their lawyers on how to beat the rap, only he calls the sessions "proffers."
In the apartment where the home invasion happened, police recovered a bloody knife. The incident is under investigation.
So is Voci's work as the bumbling head of the homicide unit, in an office where none of the rookie prosecutors know what they're doing. And, under Voci, they lose big cases like the Rittenhouse Square murder, where 22-year-old Michael White used a knife with a six-inch blade to stab to death Sean Schellenger, 37, a developer who was unarmed.
At the anti-crime, anti-Krasner rally, Voci tried to explain to the citizens why he and the D.A. sat down with Michael White and his team of public defenders and interviewed White for two hours.
Thanks to the work of Voci and Krasner, who downgraded the charges against White from first-degree murder to third-degree murder, and finally to just voluntary homicide, the killer walked. He only got probation for tampering with evidence, by throwing away the knife that he used to kill Schellenger.
While Voci was giving a speech about why he and D.A. Krasner sat down with White -- "We got Mr. White's version of what happened" -- people in the crowd asked Voci why he and Krasner were more interested in aiding criminals, rather than crime victims.
Another man asked Voci why White was sitting court-side at a recent Sixers game.
Voci did not respond to either question.
for BigTrial.netHow out of control is crime in Philadelphia under D.A. Larry Krasner?
On Wednesday night, some 90 minutes before some 500 citizens gathered at St. Monica's Church in South Philly to hold an anti-crime, an anti-Krasner rally, police were just a couple blocks away, investigating a home invasion.
Two masked men entered an apartment at the 1700 block of Wolf Street demanding money. They assaulted a 62-year-old man and ransacked the place. According to a police report, the robbers held a gun to the head of a 20-year-old woman who was a witness to the crime. Then they slashed the victim in the face and head with a knife and left him bleeding in a bedroom. The victim was transported to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he was reported to be heavily sedated in the ICU.
Meanwhile, one of the top law enforcement officials who spoke at the anti-crime, anti-Krasner rally, Anthony Voci, chief of the D.A.'s homicide unit, was himself the victim of an attempted robbery at 12:15 p.m. today in Center City, underneath the concourse of Dilworth Plaza.
A police report said that three young men approached Voci and demanded money.
"Bitch, you know you got two dollars. Give it to me."
When Voci refused, the trio ran off. Police were investigating the incident as an attempted robbery.
Voci was unharmed. He reportedly told police not to bother chasing the suspects because his boss, D.A. Larry Krasner, would probably just turn them loose anyway.
Kidding.
In the home invasion, the radio call came over at 4:54 p.m. Police were looking for two suspects; a 5-foot-5 black male nicknamed "Twin," dark-complexioned, in his 20s, wearing a black hoodie, black sweatpants, and a mask.
A second suspect was described as a 5-foot-4 white male, wearing blue jeans, a black hoodie, a green hat with white stripes and a mask.
If they are arrested, the two suspects should ask for a face-to-face meeting with their "Uncle Larry" over at the D.A.'s office. Krasner routinely meets with and advises crime suspects and their lawyers on how to beat the rap, only he calls the sessions "proffers."
In the apartment where the home invasion happened, police recovered a bloody knife. The incident is under investigation.
So is Voci's work as the bumbling head of the homicide unit, in an office where none of the rookie prosecutors know what they're doing. And, under Voci, they lose big cases like the Rittenhouse Square murder, where 22-year-old Michael White used a knife with a six-inch blade to stab to death Sean Schellenger, 37, a developer who was unarmed.
At the anti-crime, anti-Krasner rally, Voci tried to explain to the citizens why he and the D.A. sat down with Michael White and his team of public defenders and interviewed White for two hours.
Thanks to the work of Voci and Krasner, who downgraded the charges against White from first-degree murder to third-degree murder, and finally to just voluntary homicide, the killer walked. He only got probation for tampering with evidence, by throwing away the knife that he used to kill Schellenger.
While Voci was giving a speech about why he and D.A. Krasner sat down with White -- "We got Mr. White's version of what happened" -- people in the crowd asked Voci why he and Krasner were more interested in aiding criminals, rather than crime victims.
Another man asked Voci why White was sitting court-side at a recent Sixers game.
Voci did not respond to either question.