Murderdelphia

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

Murders are growing so commonplace in Philadelphia that they sometimes go virtually unnoticed outside of the police and those closest to the individuals involved.
Such was the case about two weeks ago in Crescentville, neighbors say, when nobody seemed to pay much attention to a fatal shooting on the 5800 block of Colgate St.
No TV cameras showed up and no peace rallies were held in response to the midnight shooting.
Nonetheless, while loved ones of the victim, 35-year-old Jerome Boyer, of the 500 block of Alcott St., were left to grieve, police were left to sort out minimal clues in the case. And neighbors who have grown accustomed to guns and drugs on their corners were left to ponder, "Who’s next?"
It took them less than five days to get an answer.
The owner of a corner grocery store barely a block away died last Thursday, less than an hour after two teens burst into his business attempting to rob the place, then shot the merchant as he tried to shove them out the door.
Chinese immigrant Lu Jiaxing, 49, lived above the Lu Grocery, at Cheltenham Avenue and Colgate Street, with his wife and a daughter, who both witnessed the slaying.
"We’re appalled. It’s unbelievable. We’re tired of it when it comes to killing decent people," said June DePaul, who lives across the street from the store.
Police say neighborhood youth James Canady, 15, of the 500 block of Carver St., and Darrin White, 19, who lives at 12th and Poplar streets in North Philadelphia, donned masks and entered the store just after 10 a.m., announcing a robbery.
Lu fought back and managed to push them out the door — first Canady, then White, police said. But as the merchant tried to lock the door behind them, Canady allegedly pulled a gun and shot Lu once in the chest through a screen door.
The assailants fled the scene, but witnesses who recognized them identified them for police.
The victim died just after 11 a.m. at Albert Einstein Medical Center, becoming one of the 255 murder victims killed in Philadelphia this year, as of noon on Monday. That’s in 233 days.
Officers staked out Canady’s house around the corner for several hours after the crime on the belief that he was holed up inside. But he wasn’t.
Police that day said witnesses identified him as the same youth who tried to rob Lu about a year ago. Canady was arrested for the crime, but a Family Court judge dismissed the case for lack of evidence, authorities said. Canady allegedly brandished a BB gun that time.
White surrendered to police accompanied by family on Friday. Canady did the same on Sunday.
Both are charged with murder, robbery and related offenses. White was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 15, after the Times went to press. Canady is scheduled for an Aug. 22 hearing.
There have been no arrests and there are no known motives in the Boyer murder, a police spokeswoman said. Neighbors say the shooting happened in a driveway at the rear of the Alcott Street homes.
Yet another shooting occurred on the block a few weeks ago, neighbors claim. Stray bullets struck one bystander in the hand and crashed through a bedroom window of a nearby home, they said. The Northeast Times was unable to confirm details of that incident with police.
Neighbor Dolores Ryan says she heard the shots that night, just as she heard two shots on the morning of Lu’s slaying.
"I came out in my pajamas," the retiree said. "I saw a girl weed-whacking the grass a few doors down. She dropped and ran into the house. I saw two boys — I couldn’t see their faces — running down Colgate heading south. Then the cops came."
Ryan also saw the wounded Lu holding hands with a paramedic in the back of an ambulance.
"He looked scared," she said.
Ryan didn’t know the victim, however, as she kept her distance from his store.
"Too much riff-raff goes into that store," she said. "I’d rather go up on (Rising Sun) Avenue."
Other neighbors thought highly of the store owner, who moved into the space about two years ago after reportedly operating another business for years in Delaware County.
"I know they were nice to the kids. The kids always went down there," said a woman whose young children attend day care in a nearby home. The woman declined to provide her name.
DePaul, meanwhile, described Lu as a "decent guy."
"People were so upset and crying, because this guy was so decent," she said. "If you were short money, he’d be like, ‘Next time, next time.’ He kept his area clean and didn’t let them sell drugs."
Lu’s family reopened the grocery store on Sunday, neighbors said. But the business was locked and gated on Monday. The owner’s funeral is scheduled for Aug. 22.
Canady is well-known to many in the area, too. He attended Ben Franklin Middle School, less than a block from the store, and was enrolled at Samuel Fels High School.
"My mom knew him because my niece went to school (at Franklin)," DePaul said. "At one point, he wasn’t bad, but it didn’t take long."
The recent shootings represent an escalation of longstanding persistent problems in the area, residents say, including drugs and youth curfew breaking.
"There’s always big kids hanging around, and, I’ll tell you the truth, I don’t go out at night," said Ryan, a 40-year resident.
"When it starts to get dark, I’m home. I can sit on my porch, but not for long. I used to like to sit on that porch."
Ryan can’t afford to move, though.
"And start all over again and pay for an apartment? There’s a lot of people in the area that are stuck like that," she said.
Ironically, Ryan and another local woman had been circulating a petition in the neighborhood to have surveillance cameras installed at Cheltenham and Colgate, as well as to demand strict enforcement of the curfew ordinances.
"This is a nuisance corner," she said. "Kids are out until eleven or twelve and they’re young."
DePaul attends the Lawncrest Community Association meetings on the third Tuesday of each month (except July and August) at St. William Parish. She wishes more neighbors would get involved.
"We used to have drug dealers here all the time," DePaul said. "We called (police) and finally we got them off the corner." ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com