Man Convicted in Gun Crime Connected to Phila. Cop's Murder

Posted: Tuesday, 08 December 2009 4:05PM

Man Convicted in Gun Crime Connected to Phila. Cop's Murder




by KYW's Tony Hanson

A Philadelphia man has been convicted on federal gun-trafficking charges. One of the weapons ultimately was used to kill a city police officer.

A jury found 33-year-old Stephen Lashley guilty of illegally transporting firearms and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He had purchased two weapons in South Carolina and brought them back to Philadelphia.

One of the guns was used to kill police sergeant Patrick McDonald (above), who was slain in September 2008 in North Philadelphia.

But the jury did not know the gun was used in the killing until after the verdict, when Judge Michael Baylson addressed them:

"The scourge of illegal trafficking in guns is a very serious problem for all of us and for anybody who lives in a law-abiding society. And the tragedy of this case is that one of these guns was used in the killing of a Philadelphia police officer, according to ballistics testing."

Jurors were clearly taken aback -- some literally, as they leaned back in their chairs and put their heads back with the stunning knowledge the gun they had seen in court was a weapon of murder.

McDonald's father, Larry, says he hopes the verdict sends a message -- though that will only be known at sentencing, which is set for March:

"There is no relief in seeing these verdicts for me and my wife and daugter because my son is not coming back. The only relief is that there is justice."

27-year-old Daniel Giddings was fatally shot by police after he shot and killed McDonald.

Lashley is not facing charges in the murder.
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I sure hope this guy gets the absolute maximum sentence, and gets put away for a long time. Like accessory to first degree murder, or what ever is the most time..

I'm not familiar with this case and it's not very clear to me from reading the article, but what are the details surrounding his charges? "He had purchased two weapons in South Carolina and brought them back to Philadelphia" doesn't sound very illegal to me. It wouldn't kill the author to give us a little more information.

Also, Roscoe, please provide a URL for the article.

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Originally Posted by TinGLOCK

I'm not familiar with this case and it's not very clear to me from reading the article, but what are the details surrounding his charges? "He had purchased two weapons in South Carolina and brought them back to Philadelphia" doesn't sound very illegal to me. It wouldn't kill the author to give us a little more information.

Also, Roscoe, please provide a URL for the article.

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Third sentence of the article states: "A jury found 33-year-old Stephen Lashley guilty of illegally transporting firearms and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon." I think the felon part is the kicker. Especially a felon crossing state lines.

Be sae (and unconvicted).

Scott

That was an article from KYW just like it says at the beginning , and as Swarner793 said the turd was a convicted felon. Looks like a straw purchase to me, but hey maybe he just needed the money, :rolleyes:

But here's your link anyhow............http://www.kyw1060.com/Man-Guilty-of...-Cop-s/5847353

We'll see how serious the judge is when he sentences this lowlife.

Provider of gun that killed officer faces 3 to 5 years

By Nathan Gorenstein

Inquirer Staff Writer
The man who illegally transported the .45-caliber pistol that killed Philadelphia Police Sgt. Patrick McDonald is facing from three to five years in prison after a federal jury convicted him yesterday on weapons charges.

Stephen Lashley, 33, illegally purchased the weapon in South Carolina and then carried it to Philadelphia in mid-2007, the jury concluded. In 2008, another man used the semiautomatic handgun to shoot McDonald multiple times after a traffic stop.

Lashley did not react as the verdict was read in U.S. District Court. No evidence was offered to challenge the government's case, which included a recording of Lashley's telling his girlfriend that he expected to go to jail on a weapons charge.

The jury of six men and six women deliberated for less than an hour.

Watching the verdict were McDonald's father, mother, and sister, and about a half-dozen uniformed police officers from McDonald's unit.

Later, McDonald's father, Larry, said Lashley's conviction offered limited solace to the family.

"My son is not coming back. The only relief is that there is justice," said the retired Philadelphia fire captain.

Exactly how the handgun, manufactured by the Brazilian firearms maker Taurus, made its way from Lashley to the shooter, Daniel Giddings, 27, remains under investigation, U.S. Attorney Arlene D. Fisk said after the trial before Judge Michael M. Baylson. There is no evidence connecting Lashley and Giddings, she said.

The origin of the gun was traced by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives as part of the investigation into McDonald's slaying. The gun was imported from Brazil through Miami and made its way to a pawnshop in Lancaster, S.C.

ATF agents determined that it was sold in 2006 to a man who then sold it to Lashley for money and marijuana. The same man purchased a second weapon for Lashley in 2007, and both were taken by Lashley to Philadelphia, the jury found.

Because Lashley had a criminal record for drug possession in New York state, it was a federal crime for him to possess or carry a handgun across state lines.

By Sept. 23, 2008, the Taurus was in the possession of Giddings, 27, who had been released from prison on parole a month earlier and already was wanted by police on a new criminal charge. On that day, Giddings was behind the wheel of a car McDonald pulled over at a traffic stop in North Philadelphia. During the confrontation, Giddings tried to flee on foot and McDonald, 30, gave chase. Giddings shot McDonald during the pursuit, and witnesses told police that they had seen Giddings stand over a fallen sergeant and shoot him multiple times.

Giddings fired at other officers responding to the scene and was fatally wounded during an exchange.

Lashley has been held in jail. He is to be sentenced in March.

In May, during a phone call recorded by the government - with his knowledge - Lashley told his girlfriend, "I always knew I'd have to do some years" for transporting the gun. After the verdict was announced, defense attorney Kenneth Edelin said: "The fact that was on the prison tape certainly didn't help" his client's case.
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Maybe he'll get some YEARS.......

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Originally Posted by Swarner793

Third sentence of the article states: "A jury found 33-year-old Stephen Lashley guilty of illegally transporting firearms and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon." I think the felon part is the kicker. Especially a felon crossing state lines.

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Good point. Thanks for pointing that out.

Stephen Lashley should also face charges on the murder of Officer McDonald and never see the light of day again.

Clearly he is a piece of shit with ZERO redeeming qualities.

3 to 5 years, that's not even a hard slap on the wrist. He deserves way more then that for the results of his actions.

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Originally Posted by Tootie

3 to 5 years, that's not even a hard slap on the wrist. He deserves way more then that for the results of his actions.

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I guess this just shows you won't even get a tiny slap on the wrist for straw purchases unless the end result is an LEO is killed with the straw purchase. Could this shtistain on society be tried in Pa State court for additional charges?