A juvenile defendant whose appearance at a preliminary hearing waiver in July caused an uproar in district court was formally arraigned on murder charges without disruption.
Upper Darby police have arrested Michael Nixon, 17, of Upper Darby Township in the shooting death of 16-year-old Khalif Webster.(Courtesy of Upper Darby Police Department)
Michael Nixon, 17, of Upper Darby, is charged with criminal homicide, murder in the first and third degree, and firearms not to be carried without a license in the May 18 shooting death of 16-year-old Khalif Webster.
Khalif Webster, 16, was shot and killed May 18 in Upper Darby. (Obituary photo)
Defense counsel Peter Manaras said his client stood mute at the Sept. 12 hearing after the charges were read into the record and Common Pleas Court Judge Deborah Krull entered a plea of “not guilty” on Nixon’s behalf, preserving his right to file motions.
Assistant District Attorney Sophia Polites indicated an interest of justice hearing will be held on Thursday afternoon. Nixon remains in custody at the county jail in Concord without bail.
Police initially reported Webster was shot to death during an argument between two juveniles on the afternoon of May 18 at Long Lane and Pine Street. Investigators released an image of the suspected shooter captured by a camera and asked for the public’s assistance in identifying him.
Nixon turned himself in to police on May 20 and was charged as an adult.
According to an affidavit of probable cause for Nixon’s arrest written by Detective William Gottsch:
Detectives recovered surveillance video on Long Lane that showed the victim riding a miniature dirt bike from the 7200 block of Pine Street onto the 300 block of Long Lane at 2:55 p.m.
At 2:56 p.m., the surveillance captured audio of an unknown person asking, “You that young bull I seen the other day? You better not be.”
The unknown person then said something muffled, followed immediately by a gunshot.
A white male wearing a light-colored hooded sweatshirt with a logo on the left side of the chest, black pants, black sneakers and a cross-body bag was then seen fleeing from the 300 block of Long Lane.
Video captured him tucking an unknown object, presumably a firearm, into his waistband, using his right hand.
The suspect then raised a red mobile phone to his face with his left hand and stated, “I just shot somebody in their chest, bro!”
Detectives obtained additional surveillance showing the suspect running through the neighborhood onto the 7200 block of Radbourne Avenue, then to Chapman Playground and on to the trail behind the 300 block of Essex Avenue and on to Houston Avenue.
Police canvassed the path and made contact with a witness who had been seen on one of the videos washing his vehicle in the alley near Lamport Road. That witness stated he recognized the suspect as someone who formerly lived on the unit block of Oxford Street.
On May 19, police obtained information on that former resident, finding they had an address on the first block of North State Road. The following day, police served two search warrants, including one on the State Road residence, where they recovered two fired cartridge casings, two handgun frames and a black cross-body bag.
A witness at the home agreed to go to the police station to give a statement. That witness told police they received a call from Nixon between 3:30 and 4 p.m. on May 18 stating he had just shot somebody.
After the call, the witness picked Nixon up at the Dollar General on Union Avenue in Lansdowne. He told the witness at that time that he had a dispute with Webster a day or two earlier.
The witness told police Nixon saw Webster walking on Long Lane and got into an argument with him, then shot him. Nixon additionally told the witness that Webster was riding a mini-dirt bike, which was consistent with the surveillance video.
Webster was rushed to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center following the shooting, but lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful.
Nixon and Webster were both students at Upper Darby High School. The reason for the argument and the motive for the shooting remain unknown.
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt said at a press conference announcing the charges in May that Webster’s death was a tragedy.
“We should be standing here talking about Khalif Webster’s future, his career, his plans, a family, all that life should offer,” he said. “Instead, we are talking about something that should never have occurred. …This community has been devastated by the irresponsible actions of Michael Nixon. Two families have been shattered.”
Upper Darby Mayor Ed Brown also noted at that press conference that Webster’s family said he was never in trouble and had a bright future.
“That saddens me, every time that happens our community is weakened,” Brown said. “I’m happy the culprit is in custody, but we have to find another way to solve conflict. Guns are not the answer.”
The Lansdowne District Court had to be cleared on July 18 after a relative of the victim entered the courtroom’s “well” area separating court officers from the audience just as Nixon was waiving his hearing.
The man was immediately halted by police officers as family and friends of the victim stood and began shouting at the defendant, who was quickly hustled out a back door by constables.
The courtroom was cleared and the large crowd of 40 or 50 people moved outside onto the sidewalk as a large police presence responded. Court resumed about 20 minutes later.
Nixon has been given a pretrial conference date of Oct. 14.
Daily Times reporter Pete Bannan contributed to this story