Police See Similarities in Recent Assaults

by AMY BRISSON

Around 10:30 p.m. on July 7, Samir Herman and a coworker from Osaka restaurant were walking down E. Evergreen Avenue when they were assaulted and robbed by a group of teenagers.

Herman and his friend, who asked not to be identified, usually leave work with a group of coworkers, but were let off early that night. As they put their backpacks into their car on E. Evergreen Avenue, they were approached by a group of 7 or 8 unarmed black males, around 18 or 19 years old. The young men asked Herman for cigarettes, but when he responded negatively he was pushed and grabbed from behind. He told the Local that he tried to defend himself but was punched and hit in the face.

A neighbor, Eileen Reynolds, hearing the scuffle outside, opened her second-story window and began shouting “call the police!” The group dispersed and Reynolds told the Local that she saw people running down the street. Another neighbor called the police, while Reynolds checked on Herman and his coworker.

Ten minutes later, a police officer arrived to interview the complainants and make an initial police report. Neither Herman nor his friend was seriously hurt, but they declined to go to the police station, saying they felt tired and stressed. While they were resting, another call reached the police reporting that a resident near the Wyndmoor train station on Willow Grove Avenue had seen a group of young men walking through and discarding a backpack.

After the call, the two Osaka employees realized that during the fight the assailants had stolen the two backpacks that they had placed in the car. Herman’s coworker’s bag, which was found by the train station, was missing $900 in wages he had just received. A notebook that had been in Herman’s bag was found on Highland Avenue, but his passport, which was also in the backpack, is still missing.

“I’m just hoping to get my passport back; I don’t care about anything else [that was stolen],” said Herman. He hopes that anyone who finds the passport will notify the police.

Reynolds said that she was surprised that the police officer conducting the initial interview was already aware of some of the characteristics of the group of assailants, and guessed that they were not armed.

It may not be the first time that this group has committed crimes in the area. Capt. Michael Costello, of the Northwest Detective Division, said that there was not enough information yet to establish a definite pattern, but that there are “six jobs we’re looking at going back roughly a month, or month and a half, that have some similarities, but that’s about as far as I would go with it.”

A July 6 attack, in which two teenagers assaulted a man on the 8300 block of Germantown Avenue, and an April 20 incident in which 10 to 12 teenagers assaulted and robbed a man getting into his car on the 8200 block of Ardleigh Street, bear similarities to the Evergreen Avenue incident. All three were committed by unarmed teenagers working together and involved some kind of physical attack, robbery and property damage. Costello, however, did not want to draw a connection yet between those particular incidents.

Although Costello has detectives working on the cases and there are some suspects, the investigation has been hampered by some of the previous victims refusing to cooperate with the police.

“They make an initial report and when it comes time to follow it up [they do not come to the interview],” said Costello. “Basically any subsequent action is based on that interview, not the initial police report. We have to take a much more in depth interview, we may show them suspect photos and things like that, but unfortunately we cannot compel them to cooperate. If they don’t cooperate, it basically ties our hands.”

Herman said that after the incident, a police officer told him that a detective would stop by the restaurant to talk to them, but had not done so as of July 14. Herman also said that he did not think he would be able to identify suspects since there were so many and it had been dark out at the time of the incident.

Capt. Winton Singletary, commanding officer of the 14th District, advised that the best way to avoid such incidents was to stay aware while walking at night.

“Just be aware of your surroundings [and] be careful when you’re out at night, especially if you’re alone,” said Singletary. Running, getting in a car and locking the door, or setting off an alarm are good deterrents if someone feels they are in danger, he added. Also, it is wise to program cell phones with a “hot key” that calls 911. But the most important things to do in the event of an assault are to file a report with the police and come in to identify suspects, Singletary emphasized.

“Report it as soon as possible,” said Singletary. “The faster we catch these people, the safer it is for everybody else.”