Attorneys spar in attempted-murder trial

The attorney for one of the three men accused of attempted murder argued today that the prosecution's case was "riddled with holes, riddled with inconsistencies and riddled with lies."

Dwayne Dyches, 26; Brian Hall, 24; and Pete Hopkins, 20, are charged in a May 5, 2008, shootout in the Feltonville section in which three people were wounded.

The three men allegedly led police on a 2 1/2 mile chase that ended when police yanked them from Hall's Mercury Grand Marquis near Second and Pike Streets, and then beat and kicked them as a Fox29 helicopter captured the scene on tape.

In closing arguments, Hopkins' attorney, Mary T. Maran, said the lone witness to the shootout gave conflicting reports that could not be trusted.

In addition, Maran said the "media frenzy" that resulted from the televised beating created a "major problem" for Philadelphia police that could only be fixed if all three men were prosecuted for attempted murder.

The prosecution's case hinges on the testimony of an undercover police officer who had staked out the corner of Fourth and Annsbury Streets in hope of making a drug bust.

Instead of a narcotics transaction, Officer Carlos Buitrago said he witnessed Dyches, Hall and Hopkins walk up to a group of men who congregated on the corner.

Buitrago, who was hiding in a vehicle 50 feet away, said he watched as Hopkins pulled out a semiautomatic pistol and blasted the group with 15 shots, Buitrago said.

The three men then ran back to a tan Mercury Marquis parked on Fourth Street and led police on the chase, which ended with their beating.

Maran pointed out that there was no evidence linking the gun to her client. Police could find no fingerprints or DNA samples on the weapon after it was found 25 days later.

Maran then hammered at conflicting information that Buitrago had included in his radio transmissions and incident reports. On one, Buitrago said a fourth man, "possibly the shooter," escaped down an alley and evaded capture. On another report, she said Buitrago described the shooter as having dark skin. Her client, Hopkins, has a lighter complexion, she said.

"If you believe [Buitrago] lied once, you don't have to believe anything," Maran said. "The evidence is hampered six ways to Sunday."

Assistant District Attorney Carol Sweeney countered that Buitrago was "a skilled surveillance officer."

"This is not a whodunnit," Sweeney said. "[Buitrago] had no axe to grind, he was just doing his job," Sweeney said.

"The totality of this evidence shows there was a conspiracy to affect an assasination at Fourth and Annsbury."

Dyches, Hall and Hopkins had told investigators they had been in the neighborhood to attend a vigil for a friend, Andrew Coach, who had been slain the night before. Sweeney noted how not one of the three men managed to attend it.

As for investigators' failure to test the suspects hands and clothes for gunshot residue, she said, "No case is perfect."