The South Philly Review, where I provide crime news, crime issues and crime prevention tips in my Crime Beat column, ran my column on Kadafi Fleming, a person of interest in the Billy Scmidt murder, surrenders.
You can read the column via
the above page or the text below:
Kadafi Fleming, a person of interest in the murder of Penn State student Billy Schmidt in South Philly back in June, as well as a person of interest in the recent theft of a car belonging to an off-duty Philadelphia police officer, surrendered to police on August 11th.
“That’s probably the smartest thing he’s ever done in his young life,” a retired Philadelphia detective told me. “If the U.S. Marshals can capture his brother all the way out in Colorado, I’m sure he thought the U.S. Marshals can nab him right here in Philly.”
Robert Clark, a supervisory deputy U.S. Marshal spoke to the fugitive Kadafi Fleming through reporters prior to his surrender. “We have a very good reputation for catching people, and you will be caught; it’s only a matter of time.”
Clark urged Kadafi Fleming to surrender immediately.
“If you choose to remain a fugitive, the Marshals Service will relentlessly pursue every lead, every associate, and every tip until you are located and taken into custody.”
Clark told reporters that the 19-year-old Fleming has a significant criminal history, including firearms possession, resisting arrest, and possession of a stolen vehicle. He is facing several serious charges regarding the murder of Billy Schmidt. He is suspected of having stolen a car used prior to Schmidt’s murder and then disposed of it later.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Robert Clark serves as a supervisory deputy U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, based in Philadelphia. In that role, he was part of the U.S. Marshals Service’s Eastern Pennsylvania Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force, which works to locate and arrest violent crime fugitives in the region.
The Eastern Pennsylvania Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force (E/PA VCFTF) is a specialized unit of the U.S. Marshals Service focused on locating and apprehending violent fugitives across the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia and its surrounding counties.
As a supervisory deputy U.S. Marshal, Clark oversees law enforcement operations, coordinates with local law enforcement, and lead efforts to secure high-risk fugitives. The Eastern Pennsylvania Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force includes agencies such as the Philadelphia Police Department, Pennsylvania State Parole Officers, Pennsylvania State Police, and other law enforcement agencies.
Kadafi Fleming is the older brother of Azzulbair Outen-Fleming, a suspect in the Bill Schmidt murder who was captured by deputy U.S. Marshals in Colorado last month.
Azzulbair Outen-Fleming and Kaiseem Smith were caught on surveillance videos the night 22-year-old Billy Schmidt was murdered on June 6th as he walked home from a neighborhood bar where he watched a basketball game. The two murder suspects stole Schmidt’s cell phone and as he attempted to fight back and recover his cell phone, he was shot and killed.
Kaiseem Smith surrendered to police last month. According to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, the investigation into Billy Scmidt’s murder remains active and ongoing. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner also announced last month that Donte Abdulmalik, 35, who is Outen-Fleming's stepfather, was in custody and charged with hindering apprehension, obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence in connection with this case. According to the DA Office, Abdulmalik helped Outen-Fleming leave Philadelphia.
Kadafi
Fleming was also named a person of interest in a case of car theft at 3am on
August 10th, when an off-duty police officer’s Dodge Charger was
stolen. The police officer tailed the car theft suspects to South 70th
Street. There, the officer exchanged gunfire with the suspects.
The
suspects left the officer’s Dodge Charger and drove away in a Lexus, which
police have ascertained was another stolen car.
The retired detective recalled having to deal often with “punk teenagers” when he was on the job.
“They think they are tough guys when they are in a group and armed with a gun. But catch them alone and unarmed and they are just loudmouthed kids.
“This Kadafi Fleming seems to be a bad guy,” the retired
detective said to me. “He is not only suspected of being involved in a
robbery-murder over a cell phone, he also is suspected of shooting at a police
officer who objected to his personal car being stolen.”
Paul Davis’s Crime Beat column appears here each week. He can be reached via pauldaviosncrime.com.
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