Steven Henshaw: 7 killings in 5 weeks in Reading raising concern, frustration

Mar. 29—If it seems like there's been a fatal shooting in Reading every week of late, your impression is fairly close to reality.

Since Feb. 20, when two teens were shot to death during a confrontation in a convenience store lot at Schuylkill Avenue and West Greenwich streets, a total of seven people have died in shootings in the city.

The latest killing, late Friday afternoon, left a 19-year-old man dead in the middle of Schuylkill Avenue in the Glenside neighborhood. The northwest section of the city had seen five of the seven killings over the past five weeks, including two double killings.

City Councilwoman Donna Reed, whose district encompasses the northwestern portion, said the Feb. 20 shooting that occurred around 7 on a clear sunny Sunday morning in a public place raised the level of concern about safety among her constituents.

Then came Friday's daylight shooting in one of the travel lanes of one of Reading's main north-south arteries, Schuylkill Avenue, which is Route 183.

Reed said the anxiety and anger ramped up after the latest shooting, in which the victim's body was lying in the middle of the road for passersby to see, much like the convenience store shooting five weeks earlier.

"The concept that these things are happening on a Sunday morning at Getty Mart lends a different level of concern than the typical late-at-night, or whatever we call typical, killing," she said.

If there's a turf war that is going on, Reed said, law enforcement needs to communicate that, just as they should inform the community when a shooting is related to a domestic incident or some other isolated altercation.

The police department in the past year or so under Mayor Eddie Moran's administration has limited information releases to press releases, which often contain the bare minimum of information.

Residents need to know how they should go about living their lives without running into the risk of being caught up in a shooting, Reed said.

"That's where we need assurances from those in law enforcement," she said "We as city officials and law enforcement have to credibly tell people what the risks are and are not, and I don't think we're doing a good job of doing that."

Police Chief Richard Tornielli was unavailable for comment.

'Young and dumb'

Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams said most of the recent killings boil down to young people employing guns to settle disputes, some of which have played out on social media.

"That's why I call them young and dumb," he said. "No one seems to consider the consequences of that trigger pull."

The consequences are life-altering not only for the victims and their families, but for the perpetrators and their loved ones.

"We're going to continue to seek lengthy, if not lifelong, sentences," Adams said.

The following are the homicides reported by Reading police since Feb. 20 and their status:

—Feb. 20: A random altercation that began in a convenience store at Schuylkill Avenue and West Greenwich streets around 7 a.m. and spilled into the parking lot left two teenagers dead and the asphalt littered with as many as 20 shell casings. Killed were Jose Ventura-Jimenez, 18, and a 17-year-old, whose name authorities refuse to release. A Philadelphia man, NyJee Jefferson, was taken into custody in Philadelphia a couple days later and charged with two counts each of first- and third-degree murder.

—Feb. 26: Jackson J. Reyes-Negron, 23, of Reading was fatally shot while sitting in a parked car with his girlfriend about 1:30 p.m. in the 1000 block of Green Street in what investigators called a domestic-related homicide. The woman's ex-boyfriend Deivis Gutierrez-Garcia, 21, of the 600 block of Mulberry Street, was charged with first- and third-degree murder. He remains at large.

—March 10: Two men, ages 24 and 37, were fatally shot about 11:45 p.m. in the 600 block of Miltimore Street. No arrests have been made. Officials have withheld the names of the victims.

—March 14: An 18-year-old was killed and three three other teens were wounded in a playground shooting that happened during a pre-arranged fight among a large group of teens from multiple municipalities in Reading's 18th Ward.

Amiere T. Bibbs, 18, a Gov. Mifflin High School student, died at the scene. Police said more than one gun was fired. The investigation is ongoing, and no arrests have been announced.

—March 25: Angel Hernandez-Lopez 19, was shot at close range several times in the head in the car he was driving after it stopped in the 1300 block of Schuylkill Avenue about 5:15 p.m. Friday. A witness told police a male passenger fired through the driver's side window after getting out when the car made an erratic turn from Lackawanna Street. The witness directed police to the fleeing car, which was stopped several blocks away. An officer detained its driver, Wilson Ventura-Cruz, 18, of West Reading, at gunpoint. He is being held in Berks County Prison without bail to await a hearing on first- and third-degree murder.