NEWS
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TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015
Athlete collapses on campus Continued from page 1
GILLYARD
JD MOUSLEY TTN
Three students were assaulted near this parking lot in December 2014. Police are still searching for eight suspects, who were captured on video.
STAFF REPORTS | CRIME
TUPD still searching for suspects in December group assault on students Police are searching for eight people in connection with the incident. STEVE BOHNEL Assistant News Editor On Dec. 6, three Temple students were assaulted on Montgomery Avenue while heading on their way to study for a test. More than four months later, Detective Gavin Collier still struggles with the unsolved case file. “Sometimes, it’s the cold cases that don’t go away,” said Collier, who has been a Temple Police detective for six years. “They bother me, especially something this serious. I have a daughter who attends Temple, a wife who works here at Temple, so the Temple community itself is very important to me.” According to the police report, the students were walking west on the north side of the 1200 block of Montgomery Avenue, when a group of eight people approached them. Moments later, a male in the group started to punch all three students, resulting in swelling and abrasions around all three victims’ eyes. Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said one of the students – a 19-year-old risk management major – was the most injured, as he received stitches from Temple University Hospital due to a laceration on his lower lip. The offenders left The View at Montgomery and appeared to be “amped up” while leaving the building and heading toward the scene of the incident,
which occurred across from the Insomnia Cookie truck between 12:30 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. In the time since the assault, Leone said Temple Police have used several photos, a video and have worked with management from The View to try identifying the suspects. When he saw the footage, he said he thought the case would be solvable. “Usually, we’re very successful when we capture images on the video to identify people,” Leone said. “I was really confident in this one, because we got some great shots, so I thought, ‘Somebody’s going to know who they are.’” “If I was able to get one name, we could build on that,” he added. “Maybe it’s a false sense of security, but we’ve done really well with the camera images.” Collier said he worked with management from The View and looked through the building’s guest logs. Whenever a resident signs a guest in, security takes the guest’s ID and scans it, and a photograph of the ID is timestamped and saved electronically.
people that came in … just to see if there was anything that matched up, but nothing really stood out to me.” Both Leone and Collier said a reason the suspects may not have been initially identified was because the incident happened right before Winter Break. Since most students were not on Main Campus, spreading the word and receiving help from the student population became more difficult, they said. Both added that the suspects appeared to attack the three victims without a motive. Collier said this trend has become more common recently, especially when attackers are intoxicated. “In this day and age, a lot of times, there are random acts of violence,” Collier said. “Especially involving alcohol. I don’t know if this group had been imbibing alcohol, but looking at the elevator [footage], it appears they may have been in that partying mood and been drinking.” Collier said he believes somebody knows the attackers, but is unwilling to come forward – either out of loyalty to the suspects, or in fear of retaliation if
Sometimes, it’s the cold cases that don’t go “away. They bother me, especially something this serious. ” Gavin Collier | Temple Police detective
“Unfortunately, a lot of those images are too poor to read the names on the ID card,” Collier said. “I went back as far as 10 p.m., and looked at all the
they gave up their names. Today, Leone and Collier said the investigation remains at a standstill. But with the end of the spring semester in a
COURTESY TEMPLE POLICE
Charlie Leone, executive director of Campus Safety Services, said this was the individual who punched all three victims on Dec. 6.
couple of weeks, Collier said he won’t stop trying to find new angles to figure out who was responsible for the incident in early December. “Even over the summer break, when everybody else isn’t thinking about it, I’ll still revisit it, look through the file, see if there’s anything else that might pop up to give me some indication of where to go next,” he said. Anybody with information about the case is encouraged to call Temple Police at 215-204-6493, or email police@temple.edu. * steven.bohnel@temple.edu T @Steve_Bohnel
like the disciples, those who came to honor Gillyard on Sunday morning showed the overall strength of the school and surrounding community. “With the death of Ryan, we too find ourselves startled, terrified and questioning,” Surovick told the congregation. “Our presence today says so much to each other amidst what we are feeling right now.” Even students who did not know Gillyard personally were in attendance. Steven Bradley, a junior at St. Joseph’s Prep, said that while he had only really seen him walking around in the school’s hallways, the news on Saturday was saddening. “Even though I may not have known him that well, it’s a surprise to see him go at such a young age,” Bradley said after the mass. Several players’ parents also attended, including Michael Slawson, who said his son, Michael – a junior on the football team – knew Gillyard personally. “For the kids, this is going to be a terrible loss,” Slawson said of Gillyard’s passing. “I want to commend The Prep for how quickly they got this [mass] together.” Slawson added that when he first found out about the news, he immediately thought of the Gillyards’ well-being. “When I heard the news, my heart went out to the Gillyard family,” he said. “I hope God prays for [Ryan] and his family.” Gillyard was recognized at several points during Sunday’s mass, and was the main focus of Surovick’s homily. He told the crowd that even though the 15-year-old’s death “wasn’t fair, wasn’t right, and may not make sense,” his character during his short life ensured that he has found peace. “Ryan is now living an eternal life,” he said. “Today, we commend Ryan to the Lord, to the Lord who welcomes him and embraces him a new life.” Moments before the closing hymn, St. Joseph’s Prep President, Rev. George Bur, said Gillyard’s selflessness was evident until his death. “If there is any consolation for Ryan … he never took love and care of him from others for granted,” Bur told the congregation. “It’s a consolation that we knew of him.” * steven.bohnel@temple.edu T @Steve_Bohnel
Several Temple trustees donate to Diaz’s campaign The former judge has received $4,750 from members of the board. JOE BRANDT News Editor Six Temple trustees and two administrators have made contributions to the campaigns of candidates vying for victory in this May’s Democratic mayoral primary, according to a database of election records compiled by the Inquirer. Besides Nelson Diaz – the trustee since 1992 who is running in the primary – trustees made personal donations to Anthony Hardy Williams. He is currently a state senator for the 191st district, which includes most of West Philadelphia, portions of South and Southwest Philadelphia, Darby and
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Darby Township. Lynne Abraham, the city’s former district attorney, received a $1,000 donation from trustee Daniel Polett, the namesake of Polett Walk on Main Campus. In total, Diaz has received $4,750 combined from current or honorary Temple trustees: Dennis Alter and Milton Rock each donated $1,000, while Leonard Barrack donated $2,000. Polett donated $500, and Edward Rudolph contributed $250 as well. Diaz’s campaign manager, Ian Rivera, did not respond to a request for comment. One Temple-affiliated individual donated the maximum to a candidate. Larry Kaiser, dean of Temple’s School of Medicine and CEO of Temple University Health System, donated a combined $2,900 to Williams’ campaign in two separate donations made last Sep-
tember and December. Trustee Patrick Larkin gave $1,000 to the candidate, while Ken Lawrence, senior vice president for government, community and public affairs, gave $250. There were no donations reported for President Theobald or Chairman Patrick O’Connor, though several employees of Cozen O’Connor, the lawfirm where he is vice chair, have made donations. PREIT, headed by trustee Joseph Coradino, donated $1,000 to former councilman-at-large Jim Kenney. The mayoral candidates plan to debate on May 4 at the Temple Performing Arts Center. * jbrandt@temple.edu T @JBrandt_TU Steve Bohnel contributed reporting.
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COURTESY NELSON DIAZ CAMPAIGN
Trustee and former Court of Common Pleas judge Nelson Diaz announced his intent to run for mayor in a news conference held in January at Tierra Colombiana, a restaurant in the Hunting Park neighborhood. Since then, several members of Temple’s Board of Trustees have donated to his campaign.