Nutter has vowed a comprehensive approach to the violence. Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey already has increased the police presence in Center City.
About 20 to 30 teens went on a brief rampage across Center City the night of July 29. One man was assaulted on 15th Street near Sansom Street. Within minutes, the teens beat and robbed three more men, culminating in an attack on a 59-year-old man at Juniper and Walnut Streets. The man was hospitalized with a cracked skull.
On Friday, a Common Pleas Court judge ordered that three youths arrested in the attacks remain in custody until an Aug. 18 hearing.
Two of them, boys ages 17 and 16, have been held at the Youth Study Center since the attacks. An 11-year-old boy was being held at another juvenile detention facility, officials said.
The teens sat handcuffed at the defendants' table, their parents a few rows behind them. The 11-year-old was not handcuffed.
All are charged with assault, theft, riot, and criminal conspiracy. At the hearing, defense attorneys asked that the children be released to their families. Judge Kevin Dougherty denied the requests.
Raymond Gatling, 19, of North Philadelphia, was charged in the attacks as an adult. He was being held after failing to post $25,000 bail and faces an Aug. 18 preliminary hearing in Common Pleas Court.
Video: Philadelphia prosecutor talks about teen-mob cases. www.philly.com/flashmob
Contact staff writer Mike Newall at 215-854-2759, mnewall@phillynews.com, or @MikeNewall on Twitter.
