PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia man on trial for fatally shooting another man walking his dog in Brewerytown more than a year and a half ago has been found guilty of second-degree murder.
Floors above where the trial was held, the families of both Milan Loncar and Josephus Davis watched the verdict by Zoom and braced for the jury’s word — and then, a sigh of relief for the Loncars, one of despair for the Davis family.
Davis’ mother sobbed as the jury said her 22-year-old son was guilty of second-degree murder, robbery and gun offenses in the killing of Loncar, who was walking his dog near 31st and Jefferson street in January of 2021.
“No family should have to go through what they have been through,” she said.
Over two days, prosecutors wove together a video timeline: starting with the moment 25-year-old Loncar is seen rounding the corner of 31st and Jefferson with his dog, then the moment he is approached by two men who go through his pockets, and then the flash of gunfire. Loncar stumbles, falls. His dog frantically runs around, staying close to his companion.
Joanne Pescatore, homicide supervisor for the District Attorney’s Office, tried the case and tracked Davis by his bedazzled belt and his distinctive sneakers through the neighborhood to near his own home, where they say video shows him and his accomplice getting into a silver Ford Focus.
Body-worn camera footage from a highway patrol stop of a stolen car an hour and a half later shows Davis inside with four other people.
“So you can actually still see the defendant still wearing the same clothes. He tries to run from the police. It puts the whole case back together, and you can see it’s the same person,” Pescatore said.
“Thank God we had video and that highway patrol and the other officers in the 24th district did such a great job in stopping that car. This defendant was wearing the same clothing an hour and half after he committed this crime. Without that clothing, without the video, we would never have had a case.”
They also had gunpowder residue and the gun police say was used.
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The defense tried to poke holes in the prosecution's case — arguing the entire thing was circumstantial: only clothes and video, but no DNA, no ballistics, no fingerprints and no witnesses.
Second-degree murder is automatic life in prison, but Judge Barbara McDermott delayed the sentencing. Davis will be back in court for that hearing in August.
The defendant and victim’s family chose not to speak. Homicide detectives are still looking for the second suspect they say helped Davis in robbing Loncar.