Instead, police said a warrent was not issued until the afternoon of Jan. 11.
That's a shame because at 5 that morning, Aldea put down $2,000 and was in the wind, as the cops say.
Twelve days later, authorities charge, he had accomplices murder Aguirre-Alonso.
That wasn't the only blown chance to keep Aldea behind bars. Earlier in January, Common Pleas Court Judge Nazario Jimenez Jr. reduced bail on the gun charge from $50,000 to $20,000. He did this although Aldea's record is horrific - three charges of attempted murder, shooting a baby in the neck and face, one charge of escape.
No one informed the judge Aldea was a murder suspect.
It took Aldea five days to raise bail. If the amount had been higher, he might have remained in prison.
"In a perfect world, this is the perfect example of an individual who, all things remaining equal, should remain in custody and not be a menace to society," said Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross.
In the ensuing days, there's been plenty of anger and finger-pointing. Mayor Nutter was angry at the judge for lowering bail, labeling Aldea "exhibit number one" of the challenges police face in keeping violent criminals locked up.
But why wasn't Aldea charged with murder sooner? By early January, the cops had eyewitnesses who had identified Aldea as the man who killed Louis Chevere in November - and a ballistics match to tie Aldea's gun to the shooting at Chevere's sidewalk memorial.
Wasn't that enough?
After Aguirre-Alonso's death, the Police Department maintains it tried to charge Aldea with murder Jan. 6, and again Jan. 10. The department insists that each time it tried to obtain an arrest warrant, District Attorney Seth Williams' office kicked the case back for further investigation and review.
The D.A.'s Office disputed that. Prosecutors said it was police who delayed.
