Two men arrested in May shooting of SEPTA conductor at West Mount Airy station
The arrests came more than a month after the 57-year-old SEPTA conductor was shot in the hip during an attempted robbery at a West Mount Airy Regional Rail stop.
An alleged gunman and an accomplice have been arrested in the shooting last month of a 57-year-old SEPTA conductor during a botched robbery attempt at a West Mount Airy Regional Rail stop, and members of the public were instrumental in the probe, authorities said Thursday.
Jemil R. Wylie, the 20-year-old alleged shooter — who is from Burlington, according to court records — was arrested Tuesday at a home in Oxford Circle, SEPTA Transit Police Chief Thomas J. Nestel III said. Donel Mills, 23, the suspected accomplice, had already been in custody since May 23 on unrelated charges, Nestel said.
Wylie was found at a home that transit police had held under round-the-clock surveillance, Nestel said. When he was seen emerging from the house, officers chased him back inside and apprehended him. A firearm was recovered.
Mills allegedly had committed a domestic assault in Upper Darby and was in custody when detectives identified him as one of the perpetrators, Nestel said.
Transit police had dedicated a squad of eight detectives to the incident since the May 10 shooting, Nestel said at a morning news conference at SEPTA headquarters in Center City.
The investigation was aided by numerous interviews with witnesses and neighbors, and by examination of surveillance footage, according to Nestel.
“The public played a very important part, and without critical information from witnesses, this violent crime might not have been solved,” he said. “When a violent crime occurs, it’s a full-court press for us.”
The announcement came more than a month after the conductor was shot in a hip during an attempted robbery at a West Mount Airy Regional Rail stop. The conductor, who was not publicly identified but is reported to have 19 years of service, was on a platform around 3:25 p.m. May 10 at the Carpenter station on the Chestnut Hill West Line.
At the time, police said the conductor stepped off the train and was approached by two young men wearing gray hoodies, one of which had “GAP” in black letters. The incident was captured on surveillance video.
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One of the men demanded money, but the conductor pushed the second man and tried to get back on the train, police said. That’s when he was shot by the first man. Both men then fled.
A witness called 911 and provided first aid to the conductor.
Three days after the shooting, SEPTA and the Citizens’ Crime Commission offered a $6,000 reward for information leading to the arrests and convictions of the two men suspected in the incident. SEPTA provided $5,000 and the commission added $1,000.
No money was taken in the robbery attempt, and Nestel emphasized Wednesday that trying to rob a conductor on public transit these days can be pointless.
“This was not a high-dollar heist,” he said. “The fact that SEPTA is transitioning to the Key card means that less and less money is being handled by employees, so robbing an employee just isn’t a great way to make money.”
The conductor continues to recover at home, SEPTA officials said.