Woman attacked in subway concourse; 5 charged

Five suspects were accused yesterday of assaulting a 23-year-old woman inside a Center City subway concourse Wednesday night and attempting to flee on a SEPTA train, authorities said.

The woman reported that she got off a bus at 13th and Market Streets about 8 p.m., said Officer Jillian Russell, a police spokeswoman. She walked down the steps, near the spot where Starbucks manager Sean P. Conroy was killed last week, and headed east underground.

The woman reported that near Eighth and Market Streets, she got into a quarrel with 12 people - six men and six women - all in their mid- and late-teens, Russell said.

As she passed, someone kicked her in the back, sending her to the ground face first and knocking out a tooth, Russell said. The teens then surrounded her, knocked her down when she attempted to get up, and made off with her purse.

SEPTA spokesman Gary Fairfax, however, said the attack happened in the nearby Gallery. The woman ran to a SEPTA cashier for help, and said her assailants had fled on a subway train.

Fairfax said the cashier contacted police, who waited for the suspects when the train stopped at the Fairmount station. Five were arrested.

Two juveniles, a 17-year-old male and a 16-year-old female, and three adults were charged with criminal conspiracy, robbery and aggravated assault. The minors were not identified by police.

The adults charged were identified as Christine Wearry, 19, of the 2500 block of North 12th Street; Tamira Sinkler, 20, of the 2400 block of North 10th Street; and Stanley Poland, 19, of the 1200 block of West Firth Street.

Police said property worth about $175 was taken. The victim was treated at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.