Lansdowne Police are searching for the gunman they believe killed a Penn Wood High senior earlier this year
Investigators have issued an arrest warrant for Amir Eskridge for murder, robbery and related crimes, in connection to the death of Richard DeShield Jr.
Lansdowne Police have identified the man they say gunned down a Penn Wood High School senior earlier this year, and they’re urging him to turn himself in.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Amir Eskridge, 21, for murder, robbery, conspiracy, and related crimes in the Sept. 8 death of Richard DeShield Jr., according to Lansdowne Police Chief Ken Rutherford Sr.
DeShield was shot multiple times just days after his 18th birthday as he sat in his car near the corner of North Wycombe and Blackburn Avenues, according to police.
An officer patrolling the area saw two men standing near DeShield’s car moments before the gunshots rang out, and chased the suspects into the nearby Marshall House Apartments.
One of those men was Eskridge, Rutherford said and officers found him hiding the apartment building’s basement utility room.
Eskridge was briefly detained for questioning, but was ultimately released — there was not enough evidence, at the time, to charge him with a crime.
But that changed after months of investigation, Rutherford said, and police say forensic and cell phone evidence now link him to DeShield’s death.
“This investigation is far from over. We have made significant progress, but we are not finished,” Rutherford said in a statement. “The detectives have worked tirelessly to follow the evidence, and we remain committed to identifying and holding everyone involved in this senseless killing accountable.”
DeShield, a linebacker for Penn Wood’s football team, was one of four siblings, and had plans to enlist in the Army after he graduated in the spring, his sister Christine Brown told The Inquirer.
“He was a good friend, good student, good son,” Brown said.
Rutherford said his officers have “not forgotten Richard DeShield Jr. or his family.”
“We will not allow this investigation to lose momentum,” he said. “If you had any involvement in this crime, understand that we are continuing to pursue every lead, and we are coming for you.”
Anyone with information about Eskridge is asked to call Lansdowne Police at 610-623-0700 or email Sgt. Michael Miller at mmiller@lansdowneborough.com.
