ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Two men are behind bars after a Berks County man was shot to death in Center City Allentown. Wednesday evening’s homicide comes just as the mayor had planned to address the city about lower crime stats.
“You just heard rapid gunfire,” a neighbor wishing to remain anonymous said. “Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow.”
Members of the community say they rushed to the aid of a shooting victim on Allentown’s N. 8th Street Wednesday night. But they say they were too late.
“Crime’s a little crazy out here,” the neighbor said. “Crimes definitely be a little crazy out here.”
Officials the next day took to the podium to address crime in the city. Mayor Tuerk says the press conference had been planned days ago, before the shooting happened. He says, overall, crime numbers are still down in Allentown.
“We indicated that Allentown was at that point the second-safest large city in the commonwealth,” Mayor Matt Tuerk, D-Allentown, said. “And that’s true today as well.”
What was planned as a conference to share the city’s low crime stats ended up also serving to share the latest on a homicide the night before.
“The reality is, no crime is acceptable,” Tuerk said. “They leave a lot of people in their wake.”
Lehigh County Coroner Dan Buglio says 24-year-old Jahlik Colon, from Temple, Berks County, died from multiple gunshot wounds.
It happened around 5:30 p.m. near Linden Street.
Two Allentown men — 25-year-old Jason Gonzalez and 30-year-old Garfield McLean Jr. — face felony counts of Criminal Homicide, Criminal Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Homicide and Person Not to Possess a firearm.
Gonzalez also faces a misdemeanor after the Lehigh County District Attorney says another man was standing next to the victim when he was killed, and was also nearly shot.
Officials say a mother and her one-year-old child were also in the vehicle with the two suspects when they were stopped by police. So far, the mother is not being charged with any crimes.
The D.A. adds two suspects were arrested less than two hours after the incident.
“Through excellent police and detective work we were able to resolve this situation in making an arrest to hold the people making this action accountable,” Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca said.
Officials credit the city’s surveillance and plate reader technology, as well as reports from the community.
“I mean, we had a homicide occur last night and there was an arrest made within hours,” Tuerk said. “That is rare, but it’s a function of people speaking up.”
Both suspects are being held without bail and are due in court on Wednesday. Police say the shooting is still under investigation, but they don’t believe there is any danger to the public.