1 charged with murder in death of man shot walking dog
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A man has been charged with killing a man shot to death in an apparent attempted robbery while walking his dog a block from his home in north Philadelphia last week, authorities said.
Josephus Davis, 20, was charged with murder and related offenses in the death Wednesday night of 25-year-old Milan Loncar, police said Sunday.
Authorities said earlier that Loncar was walking his dog just before 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Brewerytown neighborhood when he was approached by two men. One pointed a gun at him and both started reaching toward his pants pockets before the victim was shot in the chest and both suspects fled. Loncar was pronounced dead about a half-hour later at Temple University Hospital.
Highway patrol officers stopped a vehicle that night in connection with a carjacking earlier in the week and apprehended the driver, though four other males fled, police said. The driver's clothing was the same as that of the man who had shot Loncar hours earlier, and he was identified as Davis, police said.
Loncar graduated from Temple in 2019 and was working for a construction management company, relatives told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“Our college grieves for a life cut short in such a senseless manner,” Keya Sadeghipour, dean of Temple’s College of Engineering, said in a statement.
Family members said Loncar’s house keys and cell phone were left at the scene of the shooting, and his wallet was found in his house. On Friday night, family members and friends held a vigil at the corner where Loncar was shot.
His sister, Jelena Loncar, 27, who lived a few blocks away from her brother, described him as “selfless, constantly smiling. ... so charismatic and kind.”
It’s unclear whether Davis has an attorney and a listed number for him couldn’t be found Sunday.