Philadelphia goes a week without a homicide

Seven days. No killings. It rarely happens in Philadelphia.

It just did, though - and after one of the most bloody weeks in recent memory.

From late Sept. 13 through early Wednesday, no one died in a homicide.

The unfortunate bookends were Donnie Young, 50, shot to death Sept. 13 in his North Philadelphia rowhouse, and Benjamin Espinosa, 28, shot multiple times Tuesday on a Fairhill sidewalk. Espinosa died Wednesday at a hospital.

Over the last two years, an average of six Philadelphians a week have been slain, according to police stats.

Some weeks are quieter. Most aren't. In fact, only twice since January 2010 has Philadelphia gone from a Monday through Sunday without a killing, the numbers show.

The slowdown could not have come at a more opportune time for homicide detectives running ragged under an avalanche of slayings that occurred just the week before.

From Sept. 5 through 11, there were 17 homicides - more in one week than some veteran detectives could recall, and the most of any week since at least 2009, according to statistics.

Lt. Ray Evers, a department spokesman, cited a couple of factors for the seesaw between 17 in one week to none the next, noting that patrol and intelligence officers were strategically deployed to prevent retaliatory shootings.

He also pointed to what he called a "happenstance factor": the weather. It rained a lot. The days got shorter. And more people may have stayed indoors.

Detectives used the time to work open cases and bring up clearance rates, Homicide Capt. James Clark said.

"They have been ripping and running," he said.

Four of the 17 homicides from two weeks ago have been closed, he said, with a warrant issued in a fifth and several more on the verge of being closed.

With those 17 cases, the homicide clearance rate stands at 63 percent for the year. In the last few years, the clearance rate has been between 70 percent and 75 percent.

This week, detectives were able to arrest a suspect in the killing of Shari Harris, 22, who was shot Sept. 11 during a street robbery in North Philadelphia. She was shot in the head for the few dollars in her pocket, Clark said.

The suspect, Richard Mitchell, 28, was recently paroled after serving about nine years for his involvement in a double homicide in 1998. When he was sentenced in 2001, the judge called him a "walking, ticking time bomb."

A detective task force has been working around the clock on the Sept. 7 triple homicide at Lorena's Grocery in West Philadelphia, where Porfirio Nunez, 49, and his wife and sister were gunned down during a robbery, Clark said.

But despite the manpower and time, investigators are still searching for fresh leads in that case, Clark said.

Specifically, investigators are asking for help in identifying a white van seen near the store during the time of the crime, Clark said. A $25,000 reward has been offered in the grocery killings. Tipsters may call 215-686-3334.

"We know someone knows who did the violent and vicious murder," Clark said.

Contact staff writer Mike Newall at 215-854-2759, mnewall@phillynews.com, or @MikeNewall on Twitter.