Crime & Safety

Pondering a 'Senseless' Act

Selvin Lopez-Mauricio was looking forward to starting a new job on the morning he was killed, according to the victim's advocate and friend.

The man who died of a gunshot wound on a Phoenixville street last week was hopeful for the future.

While Selvin Lopez-Mauricio and his family were still recovering from the loss of his mother three and a half months ago, the Guatemalan immigrant was looking forward to starting a new job in the morning. Things seemed to be on the upswing for the 22-year-old.

“Selvin was an individual who had a lot going for him,” said José Parra, a family friend and volunteer with the DaOmI Foundation. “He was going to start a new job the next morning. It’s a definite blow to the family. This was an individual who was doing well.”

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Parra sat in the front row in borough hall yesterday, listening to the press conference on the arrests of two men suspected of killing Lopez-Mauricio. He used one word over and over again to describe the death: senseless.

He listened as the police chief told reporters a woman remains on the loose. He heard the chief say that the two men arrested for the homicide were standing out in the open, on a corner a block away from where Lopez-Mauricio was found by police days earlier, struggling to talk and bleeding on the sidewalk.

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Following the press conference, Parra remained in the front row, his voice calm but his eyes showing pain. Parra is acting as the advocate and voice of Lopez-Mauricio’s family members, whom he said have been overcome by grief at losing the young man. With the loss of Lopez-Mauricio’s mother a few months ago, this was another blow to the family.

“That was hard in and of itself, and then on top if that, there’s their brother dying senselessly on the streets of Phoenixville,” Parra said.

Police were called to the scene at 12:40 a.m. on Sept. 14. There, they saw Lopez-Mauricio on the sidewalk in front of a home in the 100 block of Prospect Street. Though he tried to speak, police couldn’t make out words, and Lopez-Mauricio was taken to Phoenixville Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m.

At the same time the funeral was being held on Sept. 20, Phoenixville detectives were busy questioning two suspects, Saleem Williams and Stephen Reidler, at the station a few blocks from where a large crowd gathered to honor the memory of Lopez-Mauricio.

Police Chief William Mossman and two detectives attended the services, and told the family that a suspect had confessed and another man was also in custody.

“They were probably at their lowest point, so to be able to go in there and let them  know that we had made an arrest was huge,” Mossman said.

Parra agreed with Mossman that the family felt relief, but noted that while they were happy with the arrests, nothing can bring back the 22-year-old, who Parra said was well-known and well-liked in the Phoenixville area.

Parra also lamented that while two men were charged, a woman remains on the loose. Things still aren’t resolved.

“I know they’re working very hard,” Parra said of the police.

Now, the family is left to figure out a way to get Lopez-Mauricio back to his father in Guatemala, and to ponder a crime that, according to Mossman, happened simply because Lopez-Mauricio happened to be carrying a backpack when he was spotted by his alleged killers. Mossman said the three suspects walked by other people and made Lopez-Mauricio their target.

“There were several targets that they could have chosen, but they picked one with a backpack, and it’s our feeling that they chose the one with the backpack because there was probably something in that backpack of value,” Mossman said.

The backpack, according to court papers, contained personal effects and $300. It has yet to be recovered.

While Parra stressed the seemingly senseless nature of the crime, he noted one bright spot. The turnout at the funeral showed that the community is standing by the family of Lopez-Mauricio.

“It was bringing the community together and was an enormous response, as we were hoping,” Parra said.

With the services behind them, now the family members look to have Lopez-Mauricio’s body moved to Guatemala, not a small undertaking. Parra said he hopes it can be resolved by Saturday, and said they’re working with the Guatemalan consulate to make arrangements.

Parra said the family is hoping to get some donations that can help with the cost. Franco Ristorante, located downtown, held a fundraiser earlier in the week, and donations are also being accepted by Iglesia De Dios Manantiales de Viva Eterna, 374 Hall St., Phoenixville, PA 19460.

“We’re getting a lot of help from the community,” Parra said.


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