Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/19/2006 | Suspect wounded in shoot-out
..."At this point, there's not enough to say whether he was or was not," (Police Commissioner Sylvester) Johnson said, declining to elaborate on the case or on why detectives had zeroed in on Montgomery.
But numerous police officials said they considered Montgomery a prime suspect. And Johnson did not explain why he cut short an out-of-state trip to hold last night's briefing, or why dozens of heavily armed police, including SWAT officers, were used to make the apprehension.
According to police sources, the big break came Wednesday night and early yesterday, when three people close to Montgomery, including his mother, identified him as the man shown in the surveillance video robbing Pat's Cafe on Castor Avenue about 10 p.m. May 8.
One of those people reportedly gave police a picture of Montgomery in which he wore the same clothes as the man in the video...
On Almond Street in Port Richmond, officers kept reporters away from the white rowhouse where Skerski lived with his wife, Anne, and their children, Robert, 13, and Nicole, 10...
"Maybe it's closure for the family. Here's the sad thing: His kid is graduating eighth grade. Where's his role model?"
Skerski, 46, a 16-year veteran of the force, was shot shortly after 10 p.m. May 8 while responding to a call of a robbery in progress at Pat's Cafe.
After Skerski and his partner, Officer William Alexander, arrived at the bar, Alexander approached the front door as Skerski went to the rear exit.
The gunman came out blasting a sawed-off shotgun, striking Skerski in the neck. Skerski had his gun drawn but apparently was unable to fire it. He died about two hours later at Temple University Hospital.
Skerski, who had been assigned to the 15th Police District as a community-relations officer, had been working overtime as part of the city's Operation Safer Streets...
in the days before they got the key tip Wednesday night, police reported little progress, saying they had not identified a viable suspect...
