54°
Police arrived at 35-year-old Kristian Reyes' West Lehigh Avenue home in the Fairhill section of the city on Feb. 11 with the intention of arresting him on probation and parole violations, United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said.
He had drug-related convictions dating back to 2007, CoffeeorDie reports.
After receiving no response, SWAT officers broke into the home and made their way up to the third-floor apartment, where they heard "multiple popping sounds." That's when an officer felt a "stinging sensation in his chest" and realized he had been shot, Williams said.
The officer was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment and, thanks to his bulletproof vest, survived, prosecutors said.
Reyes was eventually captured after escaping through a third-floor window and climbing onto the roof with a gun in his hand, Williams said. The gun found on the roof turned out to be a Glock 9mm pistol, the same one used to shoot the officer.
A warranted search of the apartment turned up fired cartridge casings, nearly 100 additional rounds of ammunition, and drugs including over 3,500 fentanyl pills, heroin, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, cocaine, and nearly $3,000 cash, prosecutors said.
Reyes was charged with using a firearm during a drug trafficking offense, illegally possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon, and possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute.
The case was investigated by Drug Enforcement Administration and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Martin.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Cornwall-Mount Gretna and receive free news updates.
