Gun Arrests Galore, No Convictions At All

She waited hours, only to sit in the hallway. The prosecutor warned her it would be difficult to coordinate the cases, given all the witnesses, so she tried to be patient.

But she felt uncomfortable in the courtroom, worried that Gassew's friends or family could see her.

Poe acknowledges she missed some court dates. She had to work, too, she said. Her friend's testimony in July 2008 was enough to keep the case alive.

Poe has not heard from prosecutors for months, but a few weeks ago, she got some news from a police officer friend that shocked her: Gassew had been shot by police after allegedly robbing several convenience stores. "I thought, 'That's impossible. He's in jail. How could you rob 45 people with a deadly weapon and still get out?' "

Four bullets

Gassew got out in October after his mother posted his bail, said his grandmother. Within a few days, police say, he picked up where he left off.

On Oct. 26, they say, Gassew walked into a store at 2634 Bridge St., beat two employees with a handgun, loaded a black bag with cigarettes, and took $630 from the cash register.

Two days later, he allegedly walked into a 7-Eleven store at 8101 Oxford Ave. in the Fox Chase section and smashed Joseph Massey in the face with a gun.

On his way out, police say, Gassew ran into two people and, wielding a black semiautomatic handgun, asked: "You don't see anything, right?" before speeding off in a stolen 1993 Dodge truck.

In the meantime, Officer Christian Buckman, a 13-year veteran, heard a flash over the police radio and immediately spotted the truck from his cruiser.

Police said Gassew led Buckman on a high-speed chase that ended with his truck smashed into a tree on the 6000 block of Oxford Avenue.

Gassew ran west, down Benner Street and into a parking lot.

Buckman went after him and ordered Gassew to stop several times, according to a police report.

Gassew "turned to the officer with his hand in his hood and the officer fired several times," the arrest report states.

Wounded, Gassew struggled against the officer as Buckman sought to subdue him.

A witness said she heard the officer screaming at the man to get down on the ground. Gassew was bent over by her car. She saw him get up and the officer fire again as he ran away. She called 911.

In the truck, police said they found a loaded .45-caliber Hi-Point, a cheap and popular gun.

Gassew was charged with robbing the two convenience stores, fleeing police, and stealing the truck.

Police say he was shot four times. He almost died, but doctors at Albert Einstein Medical Center brought him back. He lost his sight in one eye and almost lost his arm, his grandmother said. He is being held in the infirmary at the city Detention Center after failing to post $210,000 bail.

Gassew is expected to recover in time for his trial in May for the one remaining case left over from his 2007 robbery string.

Poe plans to be there.

"The entire system in Philadelphia is screwed up," she said. "I'm not scared. I'm tired of going to court."

Contact staff writer John Sullivan

at 215-854-2473 or johnsullivan@phillynews.com

Inquirer staff writers Nancy Phillips
and Craig R. McCoy

contributed to this article.