Prosecutors charge 5 men accused of impersonating Philadelphia police officers in 2006 to kidnap and kill a man

Federal prosecutors charged 5 men this week accused of impersonating Philadelphia police officers in the 2006 kidnapping and killing of a 38-year-old man. 

The indictment filed in the U.S. District Court in Eastern Pennsylvania alleges the men — whereas posing as police officers utilizing pretend badges, police lights, and firearms — kidnapped Shamari Taylor and his then-21-year-old girlfriend from West Philadelphia to rob him of cocaine and drug cash. 

Kevin Holloway, 45; Mark Scott, 48; Linton Mathis, 50; Atiba Wicker, 47; and Kenneth Tuck, 51, had been charged in federal court docket with conspiracy to commit kidnapping ensuing in demise, kidnapping ensuing in demise, and aiding and abetting.

The couple was sitting in a automotive in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Overbrook on Aug. 26, 2006, once they had been kidnapped and taken to a warehouse, CBS News Philadelphia reported. The kidnappers launched the girlfriend a number of hours later, however Taylor, the son of a former state representative, remained lacking.  A day after Taylor disappeared, somebody broke into his household’s residence in West Philadelphia and shot his sister and mom in their heads. They each survived.

Authorities positioned Taylor’s stays virtually 12 years later, on Aug. 21, 2018, in a shallow grave in North Philadelphia, a Department of Justice information launch mentioned. Federal prosecutors said his abductors suffocated him. Taylor was recognized via dental information, CBS News Philadelphia reported.

Philadelphia County arrested and charged Kenneth Tuck in connection to Taylor’s kidnapping in September 2006, however after two trials he was acquitted of all prices.

Law enforcement businesses, together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Pennsylvania State Parole, continued the investigation till prices had been filed this week. 

“Anyone who commits a heinous crime and is still walking free years later might just assume they’ve gotten away with it,” mentioned U.S. Attorney Romero. “Well, they should think again. We and our law enforcement partners will doggedly pursue justice for victims of violence and accountability for the perpetrators — no matter how long it may take.”