Suspect in killing of Chester teen denied bond

A judge denied bond Monday to an admitted gang member who prosecutors say confessed to shooting and killing another teen in the middle of a Chester street in July because he was tired of “trash talking” by members of another gang.

Robert Isaiah Graham, 18, told police he is a member of the Roundtree Circle gang in Chester and was on the run from probation agents at the time of the killing. Graham has been jailed without bond since his arrest just days after Shyheim Kennedy, 16, was killed on July 16 a block from downtown Chester.

“What Mr. Graham said in his statements is he shot because he was tired of the other group talking trash about him and his boys,” Sixth Circuit Solicitor Doug Barfield said. He called Graham a “danger to the community” and asked that bond be denied.

Circuit Judge Brian Gibbons denied bond and expressed his frustration at backlogged state agencies that have held up the case. Gibbons said a mental competency test he ordered for Graham in August has not been done by state officials, and that forensic testing of what is believed to be the murder weapon hasn’t been completed at a state laboratory.

Gang violence has continued in Chester since Kennedy was killed, which police say has led to death threats against police and their families. Police say Chester County is home to at least six gangs with as many as 300 members as young as 12.

Five other alleged members of the Roundtree Circle gang are in jail without bond after being charged with murder in connection with the Nov. 4 drive-by shooting death of Chester City Councilman Odell Williams, a retired police officer. Two of the accused gang members in the Williams killing were out on bond from other crimes that included attempted murder at the time Williams was shot in the head with an assault rifle.

Graham told police in written and recorded statements that he was “going to prison anyway,” and that he shot Kennedy after an argument in the street that followed ongoing harsh words between Roundtree Circle gang members and other young men.

Kennedy’s family had sent him to live in Raeford, N.C., in 2013 to escape street violence, family members have told The Herald, but he had come home for the summer. His family said Kennedy did not have gang ties at the time of his death.

Police arrested Graham after video surveillance at nearby stores showed his clothes matched the shooter’s clothing. Graham then confessed after police found him, Barfield said, and claimed that he had words with Kennedy in the street. Graham claimed that Kennedy pushed him first, then after Kennedy reached toward his back, Graham said “he pulled out his gun and shot him,” Barfield said.

The police investigation did not show Kennedy to be armed at the time, Barfield said, adding that police recovered the gun they believe Graham used to shoot Kennedy.

Graham’s criminal record dates back to violent crimes as far back as 2009, Barfield said, and Graham in early 2014 received a youthful offender sentence as an adult for burglary which did not include prison time.

Alicia Campbell, Kennedy’s cousin, told the judge that Graham should stay in jail.

“We wouldn’t want any other family to go through what we are going through,” she said.

Graham’s lawyer, Sixth Circuit Public Defender Mike Lifsey, did not dispute that Graham gave police statements about the killing. But he said the defense’s “version of the facts of the case” is different from the police allegation that Graham gunned down Kennedy after a trash-talking dispute.

This story was originally published January 12, 2015 at 1:53 PM with the headline "Suspect in killing of Chester teen denied bond."