Suspect In Philadelphia Police Officer Walker's Murder Allegedly Confesses To Crime
By Walt Hunter, Crystal Cranmore
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - One of the two men suspected in the murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Moses Walker Jr. allegedly confessed to the crime, according to police sources.
Rafael Jones allegedly admitted to his role and provided details of the crime to authorities. The alleged confession comes a day after police picked Jones up from an apartment complex in Southwest Philadelphia on a bench warrant, after he failed to meet with his probation officer.
Although authorities believed on Wednesday that Jones was the shooter in Officer Walker's killing in North Philadelphia early Saturday morning, they classified him as a person of interest.
READ: Police Questioning Person Of Interest In Murder Of Philadelphia Officer Moses Walker
According to court documents obtained by Eyewitness News, Jones has a criminal history of drug and weapons charges. He was charged Thursday in connection with a robbery in Germantown back in February.
"He's a thug, he's a career criminal. I don't know what else I can say about him," said Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey.
Court records indicate Jones was arrested and jailed in February 2012 for violating his probation from a 2008 weapons charge in which he was sentenced to two to four years in prison.
On July 25th, Jones was ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device when he was released from jail on August 8th; 10 days before Officer Walker was murdered. Jones was scheduled to have that device attached Wednesday, but failed to appear for his appointment with his probation officer.
What remains to be determined is why Jones was released from jail without his electronic device to track his whereabouts.
"There are a lot of details that we have to review, with court actions, the probation department," said Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams. "It's not a perfect system, we're going to find out what happened."
The judge in the case was not available for comment.
Meanwhile, authorities say they know who the second suspect is and they are considering releasing his photo to the public if he does not turn himself in.
"We are very confident. We have some of the best detectives around upstairs. We feel like we'll have him very soon," said Captain James Clark.
Murder charges for Jones can happen as early as Friday morning.
Officer Walker was gunned down during an attempted robbery in North Philadelphia on August 18th.
READ: Funeral Arrangements For Fallen Officer Moses Walker Jr.
