The Roundup

Edward A. Kirby (left) and Edward R. Kirby (right)

A weekly tab of what's
going on in the courts.

By Shealyn Kilroy
For BigTrial.net

Philadelphia District Attorney: 
Father and son duo Edward R. Kirby, 59, and Edward A. Kirby, 34, are being charged for the death of Edward R.’s brother George Kirby, 66, after a Grand Jury investigation, the District Attorney’s office announced on March 10. George, who had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] and was on an oxygen tank 24 hours a day, was being taken care of by his 84-year-old aunt at his home in Frankford. Edward R. had a history drug abuse. Edward A. fraudulently obtained ten life insurance policies as George so he could collect more than $100,000 in benefits. After a phone call with his uncle that he thought he ended, George’s son Nicholas Kirby overheard a conversation between his cousin and uncle about plans to kill his father:

“Go down there and kill him. Make it look like an accident. Just put a pillow over him and smother him,” said Edward A.


“It’s not that easy,” responded Edward R. 

“I don’t care what you do, just take care of it. He’s your brother, you do it. The quicker you do this, the quicker we can get the money,” said Edward A.

Alarmed, Nicholas called Officer McNicholas, a Philadelphia Police Officer friend. About a month later, Edward R. delivered a bottle containing fifty methadone pills to George’s residence. George died of methadone intoxication. Nicholas knew Edward R. was a drug addict and took methadone. Again, Nicholas called Officer McNicholas and requested that a homicide investigation be opened. The duo will appear next in court for a preliminary hearing.
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Milton Garcia

Rittenhouse Square rapist Milton Garcia, 28, was sentenced to 22 to 44 years in state prison on March 7, according  to the District Attorney’s office. Around 1 a.m. on June 21, 2014, the 26-year-old victim, a female Penn doctor, was walking back to her apartment in the on the 1900 block of Spruce St. Garcia grabbed her from behind, forced her into her own apartment and then sexually assaulted her. After Garcia left, he returned, taking her apartment keys and cell phone. The victim activated an old cell phone and dialed 911. The next day, detectives tracked her phone to Garcia’s residence in South Philadelphia. Facing Garcia, the victim appeared in court and gave “emotional” testimony, according to the District Attorney office.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania:
Michael Anthony Nohl, 20, of Montgomery County admitted to threatening a law enforcement officer and the agent’s family on March 9, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. On Dec. 22, 2014, Nohl, of Oaks, called and threatened to kill the officer and kidnap and murder the the officer’s wife and daughter. Nohl also threatened the fed with an explosive device. Nohl’s sentencing is scheduled for June 9 and could face 15 years in prison, a possible fine, up to three-years of supervised release and a $200 special assessment.

The U.S. Attorney’s office describes these charges as coming from a “swatting” incident. “The term “swatting” is generally defined as the act of deceiving an emergency service, such as 911 or other emergency services dispatcher, into dispatching emergency response units, including police SWAT teams, fire departments and medical personnel, based on the false report of an ongoing critical incident,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. However, the release does not say that Nohl claimed there was an emergency or that any emergency service was dispatched. Fbi.gov describes swatting as a “hoax 911 call to draw a response from law enforcement.” The only response Nohl seemed to have received was a court case. The release also does not mention that Nohl knew the officer personally.

New Jersey Attorney General:

Rafael Vasquez, 27, of Passaic, N.J., pleaded guilty on March 9 for attempted murder for shooting and wounding an undercover cop during an attempted armed robbery, announced the Attorney General’s office. 

The undercover cop for the narcotics task force planned to buy marijuana from Vasquez outside of a Marshall’s in Garfield on April 22, 2014 at 1:30 p.m. Vasquez along with Melvin Guzman, 21, and Patrick Morel, 23, who were indicted and pleaded guilty, planned to rob the officer, bringing a handgun and a bag of oregano, instead of marijuana.

 Guzman got into the officer’s passenger seat and Vasquez approached the window of the car displaying a handgun and ordering him to give him the money. Vasquez and the officer got into a struggle that resulted in the officer getting shot in the hip and ankle. When the rest of the task force arrived, Vasquez pointed his gun at the officers, and two officers shot Vasquez, wounding him in the left shoulder, ear, and hip.

Under his plea agreement, Vasquez may see 15 years in state prison and nearly 13 years of parole ineligibility for the attempted murder charge. In addition, the state is recommending a concurrent sentence of 10 years in state prison with five years of parole ineligibility on the gun charge. Vasquez is scheduled to be sentenced on April 20.

Shealyn can be reached at shealyn@bigtrial.net