Jonathan Dale Benton-Philadelphia mass shooting suspect is headed to trial after receiving mental health treatment

2025-05-05 02:03:29source:Rekubit Exchangecategory:Contact

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Jonathan Dale Bentonsuspect in a Philadelphia mass shooting last summer who had been deemed mentally incompetent is headed to trial after his lawyers told a judge he has been undergoing treatment and is prepared to move forward with the case.

Kimbrady Carriker, 41, is charged with five counts of murder, as well as attempted murder, aggravated assault and illegal gun possession in the apparently random shootings in early July in the working class neighborhood of Kingsessing.

During a preliminary hearing Tuesday, detectives played footage from an officer’s body-worn camera showing Carriker walking about a mile during most of the shootings on July 3. Assistant District Attorney Robert Wainwright said investigators are still trying to figure out what caused him to fire on some people and not others, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Officers “were running toward the danger without regard for their own safety, just trying to do everything they could to stop this man from killing more people,” Wainwright said.

Carriker’s attorneys told the court their client is undergoing mental health treatment and is prepared to move forward with the case. The municipal court judge forwarded the charges to county court for trial.

READ MORE A firework is lit, a boy is shot. Israel’s use of deadly force against Palestinians is scrutinizedEscaped white supremacist inmate and accomplice still at large after Idaho hospital ambushIdaho police search for escaped inmate and accomplice after ambush at Boise hospital

Prosecutors have said Carriker left a will dated June 23 at his home and a roommate said he appeared agitated and had been wearing a tactical vest around the house in the days before the shooting that killed 20-year-old Lashyd Merritt, 29-year-old Dymire Stanton, 59-year-old Ralph Moralis, and 15-year-old DaJuan Brown.

A fifth shooting victim, Joseph Wamah, 31, was found shot to death a day earlier in Kingsessing.

A 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old youth were wounded by gunfire and another 2-year-old boy and a woman were injured by shattered glass in the shootings.

Philadelphia police have said Carriker was wearing a ski mask and carrying an AR-15-style rifle when he shot people and cars. When he surrendered in an alley, police found he had two guns, extra magazines and a bulletproof vest.

More:Contact

Recommend

Federal agencies are reeling from Trump administration cuts to government

Whether a "chainsaw," per Elon Musk, or "scalpel," as President Trump has said — the Trump administr

If you're 40, it's time to start mammograms, according to new guidelines

Breast cancer is very treatable when caught early, and mammograms, which are X-ray images of breasts

Judge to unseal identities of 3 people who backed George Santos' $500K bond

A federal judge in Central Islip, New York has agreed to unseal the court records showing the identi