South Street mass shooting suspects appear in court; 2 charges dismissed
Prosecutors said Nasir Jackson, known as Nahjee Whittington, was responsible for Alexis Quinn's death.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Three suspects appeared in court for a preliminary hearing Wednesday morning in connection with the mass shooting on South Street back in June.
Attorneys argued over the charges against three of the defendants and played never before seen video of the June 4 chaos that left three people dead.
"I tried to hold it together and be strong," Tina Quinn, the mother of shooting victim Alexis Quinn, said after seeing the video. "It was getting to me."
Quinn saw the moments her daughter fell to the pavement on South Street after being shot.
"I just want justice for my daughter. I want the people who did this to pay," said Quinn.
Prosecutors said Nasir Jackson, also known as Nahjee Whittington, was responsible for Quinn's death.
Namir Jones, known as Qaadir Dukes-Hill, is also accused of firing into a crowd gathered on South Street.
Prosecutors said he's responsible for the death of Kristopher Minners.
Both face first-degree murder and conspiracy charges.
SEE ALSO: Video appears to show moments leading up to South Street mass shooting
The defense argued against the first-degree murder charges. They said the evidence wasn't there.
"It was self-defense," said Earl Kauffman, defense attorney for Jackson. "No way in hell was it first-degree murder."
But the commonwealth sees it differently and pushed for the first-degree murder charge. Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore did acknowledge that it could be difficult to prove who shot whom.
"It's going to be an uphill battle to get that charge, but at this level, we believe it's still first-degree murder," said Pescatore.
The commonwealth showed video from several angles from that night. They claim it shows the suspects firing into the crowd.
In the end, three people were killed, including one person involved in the initial fight, and 11 people were injured.
Quran Garner is also accused of firing into that crowd after the fight that sparked the mass shooting. Two charges of aggravated assault on law enforcement were dropped against him. Both sides agreed that he did not point a gun at an officer.
