Despite curfew, Chester records 5th killing this month

In a Chester neighborhood once known as the "Circle of Death" and on a street with the same name as a notorious drug gang, a 36-year-old man was found dead just hours after the last cars left Sunday's celebratory home opener for the Philadelphia Union.

The body of Keith Edmonds of Chester was discovered just after 11 p.m. in the Highland Park neighborhood, about a mile north of the riverfront stadium, on the city's west end.

Chester is under a state of emergency, with curfews in five high-crime areas, that is scheduled to stay in effect until July 23. The killing was the fifth homicide in Chester - which since 2004 has averaged 20 homicides a year - since June 1, and the 12th this year.

Edmonds' body was found in a rented white Dodge Caravan parked in the middle of Boyle Street just west of Honan Street, according to police. He had been shot numerous times in the face, an elbow, and the torso, and was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Police Capt. Stephen Fox said that the investigation was in the preliminary stages and that authorities did not think it was connected to other recent killings.

"The tip line has been working," Fox said, adding that police have received some information from the public. Police ask anyone with more information on the killing to call the anonymous tip line at 610-447-7810.

From 1996 until 2003, when federal agents swarmed in and rounded up them up, the Boyle Street Boys ran Highland Park with guns and intimidation to protect a lucrative cocaine operation.

In October 2001, Maurice "E.C." Day, who was allegedly associated with the Boyle Street Boys, executed Chester Police Cpl. Michael D. Beverly in the same neighborhood. Day is now serving life without parole.

In 2003, federal authorities arrested 14 members of another Chester drug gang, the Cut-Off, that worked the neighborhood and used juveniles to peddle crack cocaine.

On Monday, just blocks from the most recent killing, a group of teens from Christ Community Church in West Chester, clad in orange T-shirts, were trying to recruit neighborhood kids for a game of Wiffle ball and time with the Bible.

"No, sure didn't," Billy Birch, the youth pastor, said when asked if he had heard about the shooting death.

Birch said the youth group had been going to the same area for about 10 years and was aware of its history.

Residents, he said, welcome the chance for their youngsters to interact with the church group. Already, he said, the teens have cleaned up a vacant lot that once was a playground.

"We are trying to make a difference in kids' lives before it gets crazy," he said.

Police say the Highland Park neighborhood is in transition. The older brick rowhouses, many abandoned or in dire need of repair, sit on narrow winding streets littered with broken glass and overgrown with weeds.

A newer housing development, Wellington Heights, is under construction. It will include 42 three-bedroom homes with open floor plans, modern amenities, and front porches. A half-completed home sits on Culhane Street across from Boyle Street.