Two charged after shootouts that wounded Phila. officer

Police charged two men yesterday in the series of North Philadelphia shoot-outs that injured Officer Ashley Hoggard and three civilians during the weekend.

Dwayne Robinson, 23, of the 6200 block of Langdon Street, was arrested about 10:15 a.m. in the lobby of the Criminal Justice Center in Center City and charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, and firearms offenses.

Also arrested was Joseph Cebollero, 22, of the 1200 block of Cambria Street, who was charged with obstruction of justice and violating the uniform firearms act.

Neither man had been charged with the shooting of Hoggard, but police said they believed both had been involved in a gunfight that led Hoggard to the 1300 block of Somerset Street, where he was shot in a shoulder early Sunday.

Surveillance cameras recorded Cebollero in the Franchise Sports Bar & Grille, at Broad and Somerset Streets, Saturday night before the shooting, police said. He was carrying a gun.

Later that night, an argument between Robinson and Demetrius Dixon, 38, erupted outside near the bar's back exit. Dixon was shot in the arms, buttocks, and groin about 2:40 a.m. After Robinson shot Dixon, police said, Robinson passed the weapon to Cebollero.

Hoggard was shot moments later as he approached the scene. Inside the bar, surveillance cameras captured a man passing out guns to four or five people, who then left, police said.

Investigators still were piecing together the timeline of events, Lt. Frank Vanore said.

"They're going through this step by step," he said.

Two other men were shot in different locations in the neighborhood, but police have said some details on those shootings are not clear. Police also have said a nearby argument between a man and a woman earlier that night may be related.

Hoggard was in good condition yesterday in a hospital, police said. The other shooting victims also are expected to recover, and one has been released from a hospital.

Police have collected as many as 50 pieces of ballistic evidence from the neighborhood, including shell casings and bullet fragments, Deputy Commissioner William Blackburn said yesterday.

The Franchise, owned by city firefighter Eugene Coulter Jr., was closed this week after city inspectors deemed it a public nuisance and cited fire-code violations. Coulter, who has declined to comment, is being investigated by his department.

Robinson and Cebollero have had previous run-ins with police. Robinson is scheduled to be tried next month on charges of simple assault and reckless endangerment stemming from an arrest last year, according to court records. He also has been arrested on theft charges, and he pleaded guilty to drug possession with intent to manufacture or distribute in 2006. He was sentenced to probation, records show.

Cebollero has a record of theft and drug use, according to court documents. He pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property last year and was required to perform community service, receive electronic monitoring, and attend a drug and alcohol program.