Post by CCADP on Apr 9, 2006 9:29:49 GMT -5
Chester trial a tale of death and fear
The murder of a federal witness led to a probe of the Boyle Street gang - and charges in three more killings.
By John Shiffman
Inquirer Staff Writer
On Oct. 7, 2001, the night before Tracey Saunders was scheduled to appear in court to admit that she had supplied a Chester cocaine dealer with a gun, a masked man put two bullets in her head.
The murder of the federal witness triggered a massive investigation of a feared neighborhood drug set called the Boyle Street Boys - one that ultimately led to the four-murder death-penalty trial now under way at the U.S. Courthouse.
That trial, which began the same week the FBI launched a campaign to implore crime witnesses to "Step up, Speak up," has showcased the risks such witnesses take and the hurdles authorities face. It follows recent similar state cases, including a trial in which six people, fearing for their safety, recanted their testimony against the accused killer of 10-year-old Faheem Thomas-Childs in North Philadelphia.
In some cases, including the Chester one, authorities have taken unusual measures to protect witnesses. After the Saunders murder, agents issued subpoenas to virtually everyone in the neighborhood to appear before the grand jury. That way, they figured, no one could be certain who was cooperating.
The investigation unearthed three more slayings, including the murder of a 16-year-old wrongly accused of being a snitch.
The Boyle Street Boys - admitted drug dealers Andre Cooper and brothers Vincent and Jamain Williams - stand charged with four murders in Chester. Their trial began in January, and the case is before a jury, which begins its sixth day of deliberations tomorrow.
If convicted, the three men face the death penalty, a rarity in federal court. There are 39 people on federal death row, and only one is from Pennsylvania.
At trial, prosecutors Nancy Beam Winter and Faith Moore Taylor portrayed the three dealers as ruthless thugs who intimidated neighbors and killed those who dared to cross them.
"The price of the lack of loyalty on Boyle Street was bullets to the head," Winter told jurors in her opening statement.
Defense lawyers asked jurors to keep the case in perspective, noting that much of the evidence had come in the form of testimony from codefendants who had struck plea deals. One of them was Brian Rogers, the triggerman in the Saunders murder, who had become a government witness to avoid the death penalty and probably faces 25 years in prison.
"They will tell the truth when the truth benefits them and for no other reason," said Tim Sullivan, who represents Vincent Williams. "It's all part of the script."
Cooper's lawyer, Anthony Ricco, told jurors that the government's description of the Boyle Street Boys as some sort of large-scale racketeering enterprise was overblown.
"This is about kids growing up on a miserable block into a miserable life, unguided by parents, who did what the generation did before them, which is sell drugs on the block that they live on," Ricco said.
Winter told the jury that authorities had always believed the Boyle Street Boys were dangerous - that they sold bags of cocaine on their corner at all hours and often wore bulletproof vests.
That view intensified when Saunders was murdered. Saunders, a 33-year-old mother of two, worked at a Rite Aid and also struggled with drug addiction. To earn money, she helped Vincent Williams and others buy guns. When she was arrested on gun charges, she agreed to testify against Vincent Williams.
Shortly before the murder, Rogers testified, Saunders told Vincent Williams, "I'm telling on you." He allegedly responded, "Do what you have to do."
On the night before Saunders was scheduled to plead guilty to supplying Vincent Williams with a gun, Rogers shot her, Rogers testified.
Authorities investigating the murder found that it was "just the tip of the iceberg," Winter said.
Prosecutors presented evidence they said showed that the Boyle Street Boys had participated in three other murders:
Karriem Washington, 19, was killed July 10, 1999, after disagreements with the group. Cooper was the alleged triggerman.
"He shot him 11, almost a dozen times, literally from head to toe," Winter told jurors. "Despite lots of folks being out there that night, lots of folks who saw what happened, nobody dared talk to the police."
Randolph Harris, 25, was killed April 22, 2000, allegedly shot in the head by Jamain Williams, shortly after winning $10,000 from him shooting dice.
"The Boyle Street reputation grew exponentially that day," Winter said.
Antonio Rykard, 16, was killed three days later, allegedly by Vincent Williams, who wrongly believed Rykard was a snitch. Rykard was one of the group's street dealers.
"With his last breath," Winter told jurors, "Antonio Rykard swore on his grandmother's life that he wasn't a snitch, and Vincent Williams shot him twice in the face, once in the hand as Antonio Rykard vainly tried to stop the bullet, and twice in the back of the head. The message spread: You don't tell on these men or you die."
As he waited for the verdict last week, Saunders' brother, Rodney Bradley, an elementary and junior high school music teacher, said he was confident his sister was murdered to silence her.
"But why?" he said. "Why did they betray her? She adored Vincent like a great big teddy bear."
More than anything, Bradley seeks an apology - he wants the three men to tell his mother they are sorry.
Contact staff writer John Shiffman at 215-854-2658 or jshiffman@phillynews.com.
The murder of a federal witness led to a probe of the Boyle Street gang - and charges in three more killings.
By John Shiffman
Inquirer Staff Writer
On Oct. 7, 2001, the night before Tracey Saunders was scheduled to appear in court to admit that she had supplied a Chester cocaine dealer with a gun, a masked man put two bullets in her head.
The murder of the federal witness triggered a massive investigation of a feared neighborhood drug set called the Boyle Street Boys - one that ultimately led to the four-murder death-penalty trial now under way at the U.S. Courthouse.
That trial, which began the same week the FBI launched a campaign to implore crime witnesses to "Step up, Speak up," has showcased the risks such witnesses take and the hurdles authorities face. It follows recent similar state cases, including a trial in which six people, fearing for their safety, recanted their testimony against the accused killer of 10-year-old Faheem Thomas-Childs in North Philadelphia.
In some cases, including the Chester one, authorities have taken unusual measures to protect witnesses. After the Saunders murder, agents issued subpoenas to virtually everyone in the neighborhood to appear before the grand jury. That way, they figured, no one could be certain who was cooperating.
The investigation unearthed three more slayings, including the murder of a 16-year-old wrongly accused of being a snitch.
The Boyle Street Boys - admitted drug dealers Andre Cooper and brothers Vincent and Jamain Williams - stand charged with four murders in Chester. Their trial began in January, and the case is before a jury, which begins its sixth day of deliberations tomorrow.
If convicted, the three men face the death penalty, a rarity in federal court. There are 39 people on federal death row, and only one is from Pennsylvania.
At trial, prosecutors Nancy Beam Winter and Faith Moore Taylor portrayed the three dealers as ruthless thugs who intimidated neighbors and killed those who dared to cross them.
"The price of the lack of loyalty on Boyle Street was bullets to the head," Winter told jurors in her opening statement.
Defense lawyers asked jurors to keep the case in perspective, noting that much of the evidence had come in the form of testimony from codefendants who had struck plea deals. One of them was Brian Rogers, the triggerman in the Saunders murder, who had become a government witness to avoid the death penalty and probably faces 25 years in prison.
"They will tell the truth when the truth benefits them and for no other reason," said Tim Sullivan, who represents Vincent Williams. "It's all part of the script."
Cooper's lawyer, Anthony Ricco, told jurors that the government's description of the Boyle Street Boys as some sort of large-scale racketeering enterprise was overblown.
"This is about kids growing up on a miserable block into a miserable life, unguided by parents, who did what the generation did before them, which is sell drugs on the block that they live on," Ricco said.
Winter told the jury that authorities had always believed the Boyle Street Boys were dangerous - that they sold bags of cocaine on their corner at all hours and often wore bulletproof vests.
That view intensified when Saunders was murdered. Saunders, a 33-year-old mother of two, worked at a Rite Aid and also struggled with drug addiction. To earn money, she helped Vincent Williams and others buy guns. When she was arrested on gun charges, she agreed to testify against Vincent Williams.
Shortly before the murder, Rogers testified, Saunders told Vincent Williams, "I'm telling on you." He allegedly responded, "Do what you have to do."
On the night before Saunders was scheduled to plead guilty to supplying Vincent Williams with a gun, Rogers shot her, Rogers testified.
Authorities investigating the murder found that it was "just the tip of the iceberg," Winter said.
Prosecutors presented evidence they said showed that the Boyle Street Boys had participated in three other murders:
Karriem Washington, 19, was killed July 10, 1999, after disagreements with the group. Cooper was the alleged triggerman.
"He shot him 11, almost a dozen times, literally from head to toe," Winter told jurors. "Despite lots of folks being out there that night, lots of folks who saw what happened, nobody dared talk to the police."
Randolph Harris, 25, was killed April 22, 2000, allegedly shot in the head by Jamain Williams, shortly after winning $10,000 from him shooting dice.
"The Boyle Street reputation grew exponentially that day," Winter said.
Antonio Rykard, 16, was killed three days later, allegedly by Vincent Williams, who wrongly believed Rykard was a snitch. Rykard was one of the group's street dealers.
"With his last breath," Winter told jurors, "Antonio Rykard swore on his grandmother's life that he wasn't a snitch, and Vincent Williams shot him twice in the face, once in the hand as Antonio Rykard vainly tried to stop the bullet, and twice in the back of the head. The message spread: You don't tell on these men or you die."
As he waited for the verdict last week, Saunders' brother, Rodney Bradley, an elementary and junior high school music teacher, said he was confident his sister was murdered to silence her.
"But why?" he said. "Why did they betray her? She adored Vincent like a great big teddy bear."
More than anything, Bradley seeks an apology - he wants the three men to tell his mother they are sorry.
Contact staff writer John Shiffman at 215-854-2658 or jshiffman@phillynews.com.