He survived Korean War, but died in home invasion

John Fleming outside house where his dad was fatally shot. STEVEN M. FALK / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
John Fleming outside house where his dad was fatally shot. STEVEN M. FALK / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
BY Morgan Zalot and Daily News Staff Writer
Posted: June 29, 2012

JOSEPH FLEMING, a decorated Korean War veteran who raised six children in Southwest Philadelphia, stayed in his neighborhood even after it took a turn for the worse — only to be gunned down at age 80 by a young thug who broke into his well-kept corner rowhouse to steal his laptop.

Wounded in the pelvis and the stomach in the May 17 home invasion and shooting, Fleming clung to life in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania's Intensive Care Unit for 36 days before he succumbed to his injuries on Friday.

"He tried to hang in there for my mother. He really did. He was a fighter," Fleming's son, John Fleming, 46, said of his father as he stood outside his parents' house on Yocum Street near 66th, indicating the window that the two thugs who ultimately killed his father broke to get inside. "He didn't deserve this."

To make matters worse, a few days after the incident, when cops arrested Sean Johnson, 18, the alleged gunman in the home invasion and shooting, he escaped from the Southwest Detective Division at 55th and Pine streets while awaiting processing. Johnson, who police said climbed through the walls after getting through an unsecured access panel and found his way out of the building, had been at large until U.S. Marshals caught him in Norfolk, Va., around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

As of Wednesday evening, Johnson was awaiting extradition back to Philadelphia.

"The whole family is in shock right now. ... I'm glad he's off the streets," John Fleming, who lives in South Jersey, told the Daily News minutes after he learned of Johnson's recapture.

Aaron Pitts, 20, a second suspect in the home-invasion slaying, was taken into custody on Friday, several hours after Fleming died of his wounds.

Lt. John Walker of the Southwest Detective Division said the access panel that Johnson had escaped through in May has since been secured.

As John Fleming, his 73-year-old mother and his five siblings prepare to bury the patriarch of their family this Sunday, Fleming took a moment to reflect on his father.

"My father never asked for his medals. ... He never asked for recognition and never talked about the war," Fleming said. "He fought for our freedom and they stole his freedom." n

Contact Morgan Zalot at 215-854-5928 or zalotm@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @morganzalot. Read her blog PhillyConfidential.com.

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