3 held in slaying of W. Phila. man over headphones

WEST PHILA. Three suspects were in custody late Monday in the slaying of a 21-year-old man in West Philadelphia during a botched attempt to steal his new Beats by Dre headphones.

Police identified the alleged gunman as Arkel Garcia, 19.

The older brother of Christian Massey, a soft-spoken "gentle giant" from Carroll Park who was fatally shot on the evening of Nov. 30, said detectives from the Homicide Task Force told his family that two other males - brothers - were also in custody.

Corey Massey, 36, said a homicide detective had texted him Sunday saying there would be good news coming.

"His plan was to get him [the alleged shooter] before my brother was placed in the ground," Massey said.

Christian Massey's funeral was held Monday at Hickman Temple A.M.E. Church in West Philadelphia. Massey was buried in Fernwood Cemetery in Lansdowne.

Corey Massey said homicide detectives contacted the family twice Monday, first to say arrests were coming, and then after the funeral to confirm that Garcia and two other males were in custody.

"I just want justice," said Corey Massey, who thanked police and the news media for the attention his case has received.

About 300 people attended Christian Massey's funeral, including several from the Don Guanella School, a facility for special-needs boys in Delaware County that he had attended, and from Marple Newtown High School, where the 6-foot-2, 305-pound Massey played football and basketball.

Police were offering a $20,000 reward for Massey's killer.

Massey was walking through Overbrook with his headphones when he was confronted by a would-be robber. Massey had bought the headphones the day before during a Black Friday sale. The headphones retail for several hundred dollars.

The assailant attempted to take the headphones. When Massey resisted, the man shot him and fled without them.

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@RobertMoran215