Sorry "Uncle Larry".

"tons o' guns everybody's getting strapped tons o' guns got to watch the way you act tons o' guns real easy to get tons o' guns bringing nothing but death" ~Gang Starr~

There is nothing nice about the Nicetown section of Philadelphia. Seems like something is always jumping off down there. Monday night something jumped off in Nicetown that should give us all cause for pause.

I bet Uncle Larry never expected to die at the hands of a young man who looks like him after serving honorably to protect his country. But, sadly, he did. And the senseless and heinous nature of the crime and its aftermath is mind boggling.

"Nicetown, Lawrence Bennett was known as "Uncle Larry," a friendly, 68-year-old military veteran who complemented his monthly Social Security checks by doing handyman work for neighbors, usually offering up jokes as he worked.

'He was always making you smile,' said neighbor Jermaine Gindraw, 39. 'He was a good dude.' Monday night, police were still searching for 17-year-old Tyrone Roberson, who they say shot Bennett to death after he had cleaned up the yard of the house in which the young man allegedly was living."

Honestly, the kids here in Philly can get a gun easier than they can get a PlayStation, and it's ugly out here. Spend one day with me in one of our criminal court rooms and I guarantee you that you will go home and hug your kids. This crime was senseless and horrific. But what happened after, in my opinion, was almost as bad.

"Police remained at the scene of the shooting as evening fell, after a group of the suspected gunman's relatives and friends had attacked and beaten a group of neighbors angry over Bennett's killing...One woman, who told reporters she had witnessed the shooting, was pinned against a car and punched in the face repeatedly...... "It's very brazen," Capt. James Clark, of the police Homicide Unit, said of the shooting. "To do this in broad daylight, to shoot an unarmed 68-year-old man - we want to get this person off the streets as soon as possible."

I know that had to be a misprint. The little thug's family and friends put a beat down on outraged citizens after their man popped some old guy's top. Wow! "City of brotherly love" my ass.

I bet the killer's father knows where he is...wait, did I say father? I am sorry, what was I thinking? I am sure the sperm donor is long gone. [PSA ANNOUNCEMENT: To the father of Tyrone Roberson, if you are reading this and I am mistaken about you, please reach out to me so that I can correct my delineation of your character on my blog. Hurry, I can only hold my breath for so long. ]

"Neighbors said the youth was living at the house with his mother and grandmother, and that Roberson's mother ran up to the scene moments after the shooter fired his gun.
'She screamed, 'Oh, no,' said a witness. 'Then he ran off down the street and she ran after him.' Police who searched the house described it as a "flophouse," with mattresses strewed about and raw sewage in the basement...'You could smell the weed as you walked in," said an officer."'

Yeah, that's the ticket. I bet the little [alleged] killer was the man of the house. Nice of Mom to go running after the the little shooter. I wonder if she caught him?

OK, here comes the part where we humanize the victim.

"Bennett lived by himself in a small apartment around the corner. His landlord, Keith Jackson, a SEPTA bus driver, did not charge him any rent. 'He was fixing the place up for me, putting in new walls and Sheetrock, so I didn't charge him anything,' said Jackson, who stopped by the apartment in the hours after the shooting. 'He was like family to me.'

Bennett's apartment was sparse but clean. A cantaloupe sat on the counter, with a knife next to it. A container of chicken-liver salad and an onion were the main things in the refrigerator. His bed was made. Bennett had attended the University of the Arts and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, said his sister Sylvia Traylor, who came to the apartment to collect her brother's belongings.

He served in the Air Force and was a successful car salesman at a now defunct dealership on Broad Street, she said.

For years, Bennett lived in a home on a nearby street with his wife and stepson, Traylor said. But they divorced and the son no longer lives in the neighborhood, she said.
'I have to go call his son,' she said, crying." [Article]

Don't cry Ms. Traylor. Save your tears. You are going to need them for the next victim.

Before I go, I would like to correct something I stated in my post last night: I wrongly implied that there were no people of color on the current Supreme Court. Well, I was wrong. There is currently one person of color on the court. My apologies to Judge Sotomayor.