A Camden man who pleaded not guilty last week in connection with a fatal Atlantic City casino carjacking in September was arraigned today in other fatal shootings two months earlier.
Phillip L. Byrd, 21, is charged in the deaths of Camden residents Antwan Brown and Travon Kinard, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office said. The men were shot in the head on the evening of July 26, 2011, as they sat in a Pontiac Grand Prix on the 1100 block of Mechanic Street, according to officials.
Byrd received text messages from Camden resident Raheem Simmons that mentioned the Camden killings before they occurred, and investigators found the cell phone from which they were sent. Simmons was charged with the shootings in October after a witness told police that he had admitted his involvement, police said.
Byrd, Simmons, and Eric Darden, of Camden, pleaded not guilty last week in the fatal shooting of 28-year-old Sunil Rattu, of Old Bridge, N.J., who was carjacked in the Trump Taj Mahal Hotel Casino garage with his girlfriend, 24-year-old Radha Ghetia, of Parlin, N.J. She was wounded but survived. Byrd was being held in the Camden County Jail on $2 million bail. Darden has not been charged in the carjacking.
Contact Darran Simon at 856-779-3829 or dsimon@phillynews.com
