Saturday, January 1, 2005

Camden, New Jersey



From the Philadelphia Inquirer of January 1, 2005
Camden reports its 54th homicide



A store owner shot a robber who held a knife to his wife. The 2004 total was second to the city's 60 killings in '95.



Hours before one of the most violent years ever in Camden came to a close yesterday, a store owner shot and killed a knife-wielding assailant, the city's 54th homicide of 2004.



A man walked into Camden City Wireless & Fishing Supply at 27th Street and Westfield Avenue around 12:30 p.m., grabbed the owner's wife, and held a knife to her, saying he intended to rob the store, police said.



The owner, in his 30s, pulled a handgun and told the robber to drop the knife. When the robber refused, the owner fired one shot, striking the assailant in the head, authorities said.



No one else was in the store.



The robber was declared dead at the scene. His name was withheld until police could notify his relatives. He was described as a 32-year-old whose last known address was in Philadelphia.



The identities of the store owner and his wife also were withheld while police investigated. The couple were speaking with detectives last night. Their store was closed.



No charges were filed yesterday. Authorities said that the gun was properly registered, and that the owner was permitted to have it at the store.



Even if no charges are filed, the death is considered a homicide. Included in the 54 in 2004 were four people killed by police officers.
UPDATE: January 5, 2005, WPVI Channel 6 in Philadelphia reports:
January 5, 2005 — A man who was killed while attempting to rob a store last week was the man who raped three women in Camden over the last two months of 2004, authorities said Wednesday.



Camden County Prosecutor Vincent P. Sarubbi said the state police DNA lab confirmed that Antonio Diaz Reyes, 32, was the rapist.



Three women were raped in the relatively safe downtown Camden area in November and December. Authorities said they were unable to figure out who had committed the brazen daylight attacks.




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