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http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-06032006-665412.html
By LAURIE MASON
Bucks County Courier Times
BENSALEM - No charges will be filed against a Philadelphia man who killed one teen and injured another outside a Bensalem Wawa last year, an incident that has sparked heated protests from the victims' families.
Following a 14-month investigation, a Bucks County grand jury has concluded that Randy Dillon, 25, acted in self-defense when he shot and killed 19-year-old Matthew Taylor and wounded Alex Ryzinski, 18, shortly after 1:30 a.m. March 27, 2005.
The panel found that Dillon, a former Bristol Township resident who now lives in the city and works as an auto mechanic, was jumped by a group of eight teens who had gone to the Wawa after leaving an underage drinking party.
The grand jury concluded that Dillon, who has a license to carry a handgun, fired a warning shot and made several attempts to avoid a confrontation before he was attacked. District Attorney Diane Gibbons said a “pack mentality” kicked in, and the teens turned vicious following a brief exchange of words between Dillon and the group.
“The truth here is that these kids were drunk, they were raucous, they were riotous, they started a physical altercation and somebody died,” Gibbons said.
Dillon said he was relieved to have the long investigation concluded. Through a statement released by his attorney, Ellis Klein, he thanked Bensalem police and the district attorney for conducting a thorough investigation.
“That night, everyone involved made choices. Their choice was to jump me and assault me. My choice was to defend my life. I am sorry for everything that occurred that night. If I could turn back time I would,” Dillon said.
In its 108-page report, the grand jury found that the fight started soon after the teens — six males and two females — arrived at the Wawa on Route 1 in three separate cars. One of the cars was weaving erratically, and comments might have been made about one of the girls being too drunk to drive, witnesses told investigators.
The teens had come from a drinking party at the Neshaminy Motor Inn across Route 1 from the Wawa, Gibbons said. As the argument escalated, Dillon backed away, pulled out his gun and held it at his side. When the group came closer, he fired a warning shot into the air.
The pack still advanced, Gibbons said, and Dillon was tripped from behind and knocked to the ground.
“Dillon was tackled, punched and kicked by an unknown number of individuals,” the report states.
He fired his gun twice without hitting any of the subjects. Still, the group continued to attack, Gibbons said.
Dillon fired two more shots, hitting Taylor and Ryzinski. Gibbons said even that did not stop the attackers, and the girls jumped into the fracas.
Police arrived soon after the shooting and interviewed Dillon, the teens and several eyewitnesses. Although there were security cameras at the store, none pointed at the spot where the fight occurred.
Gibbons said the teens gave differing versions of what happened and have all changed their story several times. Dillon's account has remained consistent, she said. Physical evidence and eyewitness accounts support his story, she said.
Gibbons said the teens' waffling had slowed down the grand jury process. The investigation was further delayed by her recent sick leave for a quadruple bypass.
Klein called the case a “classic law school textbook self-defense example,” and said he's been confident since the beginning that Dillon would not be charged.
The grand jury, in its report, said Dillon was the victim, not the perpetrator, in the fight.
“We find that Dillon, who found himself substantially outnumbered, attempted to avoid a physical confrontation by warning the actors that he was armed and by attempting to retreat. We find that Dillon did not threaten to use deadly force until his own safety was jeopardized. ... We find that Matthew Taylor was physically engaged in assaulting Randy Dillon at the time he was shot,” the report reads.
While the case was before the grand jury, families and friends of the shooting victims held rallies outside the Wawa and Bucks County Courthouse in Doylestown, calling on Gibbons to prosecute Dillon. The group also protested the district attorney in the middle of her re-election campaign last year, attending a political debate that was being aired on the radio.
Though he wasn't a witness to the shooting, Taylor's father, Bob Tausendfreundt, said Friday that he has interviewed all of his son's friends and they say that Dillon was the agitator and aggressor. Tausendfreundt said his son was in his car and not in a confrontation with Dillon when the shots were fired.
“Matt was trying to get everyone to leave,” he said.
Even if the teens were lying about their involvement, Gibbons, at the least, should have prosecuted Dillon for reckless endangerment because of the “warning shot” he fired outside a convenience store, Tausendfreundt said.
“He had no alternate means to retreat? He couldn't run into the Wawa?” the father questioned.
After reading the summary of the grand jury report, Taylor's father said he's not convinced that Gibbons was telling the “whole story” of what happened at the Wawa.
“I just don't understand this whole thing,” he said. “They were not at the Wawa to cause trouble. They were there to get hoagies.”
Gibbons said she does not blame the victims' family and friends for wanting her to prosecute Dillon.
She said the teens lied about their actions at the Wawa not only to avoid arrest, but also to deflect “community condemnation.”
Gibbons said Taylor's parents do not know the real facts behind the shooting because they are hearing only their son's friends' accounts.
“They are being lied to,” she said.
The other teens identified in the grand jury report are Robert Kilmer, Vincent Leporace, Ryan Clement, Matthew Batemen, Kristen Simpson and Kimberly Gasparo, all of Philadelphia. All were between the ages of 17 and 19 when the incident occurred, Gibbons said.
Breath tests taken five hours after the fight showed trace amounts of alcohol in some of the teens' breath, but Gibbons said there is evidence that all were drinking.
She said that although the grand jury did not recommend assault charges — mostly because the differing stories made it impossible to determine who did what during the fight — she said she will now consider pursuing charges against the teens for underage drinking. At least one boy also had a fake ID, she said.
Fred Harran, Bensalem's director of public safety, said the case underscores the problem of teen drinking.
“This all started at an underage drinking party. Mr. Dillon was just an innocent bystander who was overtaken by a group of rowdy teenagers.”
By LAURIE MASON
Bucks County Courier Times
BENSALEM - No charges will be filed against a Philadelphia man who killed one teen and injured another outside a Bensalem Wawa last year, an incident that has sparked heated protests from the victims' families.
Following a 14-month investigation, a Bucks County grand jury has concluded that Randy Dillon, 25, acted in self-defense when he shot and killed 19-year-old Matthew Taylor and wounded Alex Ryzinski, 18, shortly after 1:30 a.m. March 27, 2005.
The panel found that Dillon, a former Bristol Township resident who now lives in the city and works as an auto mechanic, was jumped by a group of eight teens who had gone to the Wawa after leaving an underage drinking party.
The grand jury concluded that Dillon, who has a license to carry a handgun, fired a warning shot and made several attempts to avoid a confrontation before he was attacked. District Attorney Diane Gibbons said a “pack mentality” kicked in, and the teens turned vicious following a brief exchange of words between Dillon and the group.
“The truth here is that these kids were drunk, they were raucous, they were riotous, they started a physical altercation and somebody died,” Gibbons said.
Dillon said he was relieved to have the long investigation concluded. Through a statement released by his attorney, Ellis Klein, he thanked Bensalem police and the district attorney for conducting a thorough investigation.
“That night, everyone involved made choices. Their choice was to jump me and assault me. My choice was to defend my life. I am sorry for everything that occurred that night. If I could turn back time I would,” Dillon said.
In its 108-page report, the grand jury found that the fight started soon after the teens — six males and two females — arrived at the Wawa on Route 1 in three separate cars. One of the cars was weaving erratically, and comments might have been made about one of the girls being too drunk to drive, witnesses told investigators.
The teens had come from a drinking party at the Neshaminy Motor Inn across Route 1 from the Wawa, Gibbons said. As the argument escalated, Dillon backed away, pulled out his gun and held it at his side. When the group came closer, he fired a warning shot into the air.
The pack still advanced, Gibbons said, and Dillon was tripped from behind and knocked to the ground.
“Dillon was tackled, punched and kicked by an unknown number of individuals,” the report states.
He fired his gun twice without hitting any of the subjects. Still, the group continued to attack, Gibbons said.
Dillon fired two more shots, hitting Taylor and Ryzinski. Gibbons said even that did not stop the attackers, and the girls jumped into the fracas.
Police arrived soon after the shooting and interviewed Dillon, the teens and several eyewitnesses. Although there were security cameras at the store, none pointed at the spot where the fight occurred.
Gibbons said the teens gave differing versions of what happened and have all changed their story several times. Dillon's account has remained consistent, she said. Physical evidence and eyewitness accounts support his story, she said.
Gibbons said the teens' waffling had slowed down the grand jury process. The investigation was further delayed by her recent sick leave for a quadruple bypass.
Klein called the case a “classic law school textbook self-defense example,” and said he's been confident since the beginning that Dillon would not be charged.
The grand jury, in its report, said Dillon was the victim, not the perpetrator, in the fight.
“We find that Dillon, who found himself substantially outnumbered, attempted to avoid a physical confrontation by warning the actors that he was armed and by attempting to retreat. We find that Dillon did not threaten to use deadly force until his own safety was jeopardized. ... We find that Matthew Taylor was physically engaged in assaulting Randy Dillon at the time he was shot,” the report reads.
While the case was before the grand jury, families and friends of the shooting victims held rallies outside the Wawa and Bucks County Courthouse in Doylestown, calling on Gibbons to prosecute Dillon. The group also protested the district attorney in the middle of her re-election campaign last year, attending a political debate that was being aired on the radio.
Though he wasn't a witness to the shooting, Taylor's father, Bob Tausendfreundt, said Friday that he has interviewed all of his son's friends and they say that Dillon was the agitator and aggressor. Tausendfreundt said his son was in his car and not in a confrontation with Dillon when the shots were fired.
“Matt was trying to get everyone to leave,” he said.
Even if the teens were lying about their involvement, Gibbons, at the least, should have prosecuted Dillon for reckless endangerment because of the “warning shot” he fired outside a convenience store, Tausendfreundt said.
“He had no alternate means to retreat? He couldn't run into the Wawa?” the father questioned.
After reading the summary of the grand jury report, Taylor's father said he's not convinced that Gibbons was telling the “whole story” of what happened at the Wawa.
“I just don't understand this whole thing,” he said. “They were not at the Wawa to cause trouble. They were there to get hoagies.”
Gibbons said she does not blame the victims' family and friends for wanting her to prosecute Dillon.
She said the teens lied about their actions at the Wawa not only to avoid arrest, but also to deflect “community condemnation.”
Gibbons said Taylor's parents do not know the real facts behind the shooting because they are hearing only their son's friends' accounts.
“They are being lied to,” she said.
The other teens identified in the grand jury report are Robert Kilmer, Vincent Leporace, Ryan Clement, Matthew Batemen, Kristen Simpson and Kimberly Gasparo, all of Philadelphia. All were between the ages of 17 and 19 when the incident occurred, Gibbons said.
Breath tests taken five hours after the fight showed trace amounts of alcohol in some of the teens' breath, but Gibbons said there is evidence that all were drinking.
She said that although the grand jury did not recommend assault charges — mostly because the differing stories made it impossible to determine who did what during the fight — she said she will now consider pursuing charges against the teens for underage drinking. At least one boy also had a fake ID, she said.
Fred Harran, Bensalem's director of public safety, said the case underscores the problem of teen drinking.
“This all started at an underage drinking party. Mr. Dillon was just an innocent bystander who was overtaken by a group of rowdy teenagers.”
