Teen to be tried as adult
in dirt-bike murder case

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

A Summerdale teenager accused of murdering another teen in July for the victim’s new dirt bike bragged about the crime as brutally as he had carried it out, according to testimony in a court hearing last week.
Eric Smith, 16, of the 800 block of Granite St., allegedly shot Luis Navarro III, 16, of the 4600 block of Pennhurst St., three times in the back on July 28 as Navarro rode his 2008 Kawasaki on a wooded trail in Tacony Creek Park near his home.
According to testimony during an Oct. 17 preliminary hearing, Smith, now 17, later quipped in slang to a 14-year-old pal about the shooting, "Yo, you don’t know what it’s like to catch a body."
Smith, a Samuel K. Fels High School student, further told the 14-year-old how the wounded Navarro was "just spitting up blood," while writhing on the ground. The younger boy did not witness the attack.
At the end of the hearing, Municipal Court Judge David Shuter held Smith for trial as an adult on a general murder charge, as well as robbery and weapons offenses.
Smith is to be arraigned in Common Pleas Court on Nov. 5. He is ineligible for bail under Pennsylvania law because he is charged with a capital crime.
Navarro’s parents had given him the $3,000 motorcycle about a week before the killing as a reward for being a good kid, his family has said. Also, it was his birthday.
On the Saturday of the shooting, Navarro was riding the bike in the park near the 4700 block of Tampa St. shortly before 7 p.m. when Smith allegedly ambushed him.
At the hearing, another 16-year-old boy testified how he accompanied Smith into the woods that evening and saw the attack.
The youths had ridden Smith’s pedal bike to the spot where they encountered Navarro, the witness said. The witness claimed he didn’t know that Smith was carrying a gun.
First, they heard a dirt bike approaching. When the cycle passed, Smith pulled the gun and shot the rider once, the witness said. As the friend fled on Smith’s bicycle, he heard some more shots, he testified. He did not report the shooting to police.
Based on forensic evidence, authorities allege that two of the shots were fired as Navarro lay prone on the ground. He died at the scene.
Smith allegedly took the Kawasaki back to his own neighborhood. Smith’s neighbors have said that they saw the defendant riding the bright green dirt bike in the street later that night. Meanwhile, local broadcast news reports repeatedly aired descriptions of the stolen cycle as police attempted to generate leads in the investigation.
Their big break came on July 30 when a construction worker spotted three youths pushing the bike to a garage on the 800 block of Marcella St. Responding officers arrested the three youths and allegedly found the murder weapon, a semi-automatic pistol inside the garage.
Originally, police have said, Smith stashed the bike at another home, but the mother of one of the youths recognized it from the news reports and told them to get rid of it. The parent did not report her discovery to police.
The 14-year-old witness was one of the three boys caught with the bike. When questioned by Assistant District Attorney Carlos Vega during last week’s hearing, the youth initially remained silent. Vega then read aloud the boy’s sworn statement to police.
Smith’s court-appointed defense attorney, Daniel Rendine, challenged both teen witnesses’ statements, claiming that they cooperated with authorities to avoid prosecution. Neither boy has been charged with a crime. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com