3 Suspects In Shooting Of Philadelphia Police Officer Appear In Court
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A preliminary hearing is scheduled today for three men charged with shooting a Philadelphia police officer last summer, after a vehicle stop in the Kensington section. They face attempted murder and other charges.
Weapons of warfare were recovered from the mid-July shooting - a sudden gun battle - when Officer Kevin Livewell and his partner stopped a white van on Water Street, near Indiana Avenue. As they got out of their marked cruiser, two of its occupants leaped out and opened fire. Both officers returned fire.
Livewell was wounded in the leg. His partner, Officer Brian Issel, tackled one of the men, the alleged driver, Ramon Dejesus. A second man, Anel Cuenas, was captured days later. The third and final suspect, Richard Martinez, was captured by U.S. Marshals earlier this month.
Police say the occupants fired AK-47 and SKS assault rifles. They also recovered two more assault type rifles, and four handguns.
Firearms experts in the department say the arsenal was unlike anything they'd seen. One commander added, the long rifles could fire bullets "capable of slicing through a vehicle" or piercing armor.
At the time, police Commissioner Ramsey summed it up; the occupants in the van were 'bad guys up to no good.'
Reported By Steve Tawa, KYW Newsradio.
