PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A man charged with shooting at police during a pursuit in Northeast Philadelphia two and a half years ago has pleaded guilty to some of the charges.
Tajan Durham, 31, admitted to shooting at police nearly a dozen times while trying to flee from them after an armed robbery.
In January 2022, police were called to Ditman and Knorr streets in Tacony for a report of shots fired at officers. Authorities said they saw Durham jump into a black Jeep and take off, blowing through traffic lights and stop signs.
During the chase, investigators said he fired at a marked police van.
When the Jeep eventually ran into some metal barriers near Roosevelt Boulevard and Cottman Avenue, prosecutors said Durham jumped out, ran into the parking lot of an Office Max in Castor Gardens, and hid under a car. Police eventually found him there and arrested him.
Inside the Jeep, which prosecutors said was registered to him, authorities found another gun, ammunition and a bulletproof vest with a police badge.
Court records indicate Durham has some mental issues and had a prior 2017 robbery conviction, which prohibits him from having a gun.
Durham pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated assault and a gun charge. Prosecutors dropped dozens of other charges against him, including attempted murder, assault on law enforcement, and other related offenses.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in December.