The Bobster
Senior News Editor since 2004
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Two Brothers Convicted In Lex Street Mass Killing
Khalid Faruqi Appeared Stunned At Verdict
POSTED: 12:24 pm EST March 5, 2004
UPDATED: 9:15 pm EST March 5, 2004
PHILADELPHIA -- Two brothers charged in one of the city's worst mass killings were convicted Friday, 18 months after prosecutors acknowledged that the first group of men jailed for the crime were innocent.
Dawud Faruqi, 29, hung his head and sighed as the jury delivered
ts verdict: guilty of seven counts of first-degree murder.
His brother, Khalid Faruqi, 28, appeared overwhelmed and disoriented. Red eyed, he staggered and choked for several minutes, then finally sat
do
wn at the urging of guards and his attorney.
The penalty phase of the trial starts Monday. Both men could be
sentenced to death.
The brothers were charged with being part of a gang of masked robbers who massacred seven people and wounded three others inside a West Philadelphia drug den a few days after Christmas in 2000.
Authorities had originally charged a different group of suspects when a man who was friendly with one of the victims allegedly confessed and fingered three accomplices.
The four spent 18 months in jail facing a potential death penalty, but on the eve of trial the case fell apart. Just days after one prosecutor angrily told a judge that he was ready to try the case, "until hell freezes over," the charges were dropped.
In September, the ci
ty agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle claims by the men that the confession was coerced, and that prosecutors ignored evidence of the defendants' innocence.
Later, four new defendants w
ere charged
for the crime known as "the Lex Street massacre." Two confessed and pleaded guilty. The Faruqi brothers demanded a trial.
The case ag
ainst them hinged largely on the testimony of Bruce Veney, who claimed to have acted as a lookout during the shooting.
Veney told jurors that the Faruqis and a close friend, Shihean Black, entered the home, ordered 10 victims to lie on a floor and then fired dozens of shots into their bodies. He said the shooting was the result of a dispute over who was responsible for burning out the clutch on Black's car.
Defense lawyers called Veney a liar, and claimed that some or all the original defendants were guilty.
At trial, they questioned the man who had initially confessed to the killings, Jermel Lewis, asking why he would hav
e admitted to a crime he did not commit. Lewis said he was high on drugs and unaware of what he was doing.
Police also presented ballistics evidence that they said tied the Faruqi brothers to
the killers' we
apons.
Prosecutors and attorneys for the two brothers declined to comment on the verdict, citing a gag order imposed by the judge, but the defense team appeare
d distraught. Dawud Faruqi's attorney, Todd Henry, lay his head down on a table and covered his face with his hands.
Relatives of the victims were elated.
"I'm smiling. I haven't smiled in three years," said Veronica Conyers, the mother of massacre victim Calvin Helton.
Lewis' lawyer, Charles Mirarchi, said the verdict offers further proof that his client was innocent.
"Does it vindicate him? Absolutely," said. "The Commonwealth put on a heck of a case."
The brothers face a minimum sentence of life in prison.
The jury of five blacks and seven
whites also found the brothers guilty of robbery, conspiracy and attempted murder.
Veney previously was sentenced to 15 to 30 years.
Shihean Black, whose first confessions in the c
ase were initially written
off by police as being fabricated, was given seven consecutive life sentences.
Two Brothers Convicted In Lex Street Mass Killing
Khalid Faruqi Appeared Stunned At Verdict
POSTED: 12:24 pm EST March 5, 2004
UPDATED: 9:15 pm EST March 5, 2004
PHILADELPHIA -- Two brothers charged in one of the city's worst mass killings were convicted Friday, 18 months after prosecutors acknowledged that the first group of men jailed for the crime were innocent.
Dawud Faruqi, 29, hung his head and sighed as the jury delivered
ts verdict: guilty of seven counts of first-degree murder.
His brother, Khalid Faruqi, 28, appeared overwhelmed and disoriented. Red eyed, he staggered and choked for several minutes, then finally sat
do
wn at the urging of guards and his attorney.
The penalty phase of the trial starts Monday. Both men could be
sentenced to death.
The brothers were charged with being part of a gang of masked robbers who massacred seven people and wounded three others inside a West Philadelphia drug den a few days after Christmas in 2000.
Authorities had originally charged a different group of suspects when a man who was friendly with one of the victims allegedly confessed and fingered three accomplices.
The four spent 18 months in jail facing a potential death penalty, but on the eve of trial the case fell apart. Just days after one prosecutor angrily told a judge that he was ready to try the case, "until hell freezes over," the charges were dropped.
In September, the ci
ty agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle claims by the men that the confession was coerced, and that prosecutors ignored evidence of the defendants' innocence.
Later, four new defendants w
ere charged
for the crime known as "the Lex Street massacre." Two confessed and pleaded guilty. The Faruqi brothers demanded a trial.
The case ag
ainst them hinged largely on the testimony of Bruce Veney, who claimed to have acted as a lookout during the shooting.
Veney told jurors that the Faruqis and a close friend, Shihean Black, entered the home, ordered 10 victims to lie on a floor and then fired dozens of shots into their bodies. He said the shooting was the result of a dispute over who was responsible for burning out the clutch on Black's car.
Defense lawyers called Veney a liar, and claimed that some or all the original defendants were guilty.
At trial, they questioned the man who had initially confessed to the killings, Jermel Lewis, asking why he would hav
e admitted to a crime he did not commit. Lewis said he was high on drugs and unaware of what he was doing.
Police also presented ballistics evidence that they said tied the Faruqi brothers to
the killers' we
apons.
Prosecutors and attorneys for the two brothers declined to comment on the verdict, citing a gag order imposed by the judge, but the defense team appeare
d distraught. Dawud Faruqi's attorney, Todd Henry, lay his head down on a table and covered his face with his hands.
Relatives of the victims were elated.
"I'm smiling. I haven't smiled in three years," said Veronica Conyers, the mother of massacre victim Calvin Helton.
Lewis' lawyer, Charles Mirarchi, said the verdict offers further proof that his client was innocent.
"Does it vindicate him? Absolutely," said. "The Commonwealth put on a heck of a case."
The brothers face a minimum sentence of life in prison.
The jury of five blacks and seven
whites also found the brothers guilty of robbery, conspiracy and attempted murder.
Veney previously was sentenced to 15 to 30 years.
Shihean Black, whose first confessions in the c
ase were initially written
off by police as being fabricated, was given seven consecutive life sentences.