PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two teenagers accused of fatally shooting 15-year-old Sean Toomey on March 24 in Mayfair were held on murder charges Thursday.
A federal informant, who was with the now 18-year-olds Saahir Teagle and Daniel Gardee the night Toomey died, testified against the two, saying the three of them stole a car and drove around neighborhoods in Mayfair.
He said they then made their way to an ATM near the Chickie’s and Pete’s on Robbins and Mulberry Streets and the pair split from him.
Moments later, the informant said he heard a gunshot and walked back to Teagle’s house, where he had been staying.
He claims it wasn’t until days later that he learned Toomey was killed around the same time and place as the gunshot he heard that night.
Teagle and Gardee returned to the house and Gardee told him they “shot a bull” meaning, a person, and later, as they were playing Grand Theft Auto, Teagle said the person they shot “screamed like a Grand Theft Auto character.”
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A homicide detective played footage of more than a dozen surveillance clips that showed the three meandering through the streets that night.
Defense attornies argued the informant's story doesn’t add up, pointing out he’s a cooperating witness for the prosecution and already pleaded guilty to seven counts of carjacking and related offenses but was not yet sentenced.
Toomey’s dad, John, was tearful throughout the hearing and said he desperately misses his son.
“He was a nice, shy kid – typical 15-year-old kid,” John said. “He liked going down to the park, shooting hoops, playing his video and going to school … and always had a smile on his face, which is one of the things I miss most – his smile and his laugh.”
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Ellis Palividas, Gardee’s attorney, says they will vigorously defend the case, as there are “material inconsistencies between today’s testimony and the cooperator’s prior statements.”
Teagle and Gardee are expected to head to the Court of Common Pleas for the trial phase.