Feb. 12–A second ex-con was taken into custody early Saturday, accused of spraying bullets in a West Chester neighborhood last month that killed a 23-year-old Philadelphia man.
Gregory C. Arrington, 21, of West Chester, was charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, firearms violations, and related offenses in connection with the fatal shooting of Towayne Uqdah, Chester County First Assistant District Attorney Michael G. Noone said.
Police said Uqdah was shot nine times in a neighborhood near the borough’s business district at North Matlack and Chestnut Streets about 2 a.m. on Jan. 27. Two companions with him were not injured, but a round went through the coat of one and another bullet went through a window of a home where a couple was sleeping, police said.
Arrington’s alleged coconspirator, James J.E. Potts Jr., 28, who listed residences in West Chester, Downingtown, and Philadelphia, was taken into custody Jan. 31.
A witness told police that Potts and Arrington discussed the killing afterward and that Arrington said he “shot his gun multiple times at all three subjects until it was empty,” according to a criminal complaint filed in Arrington’s arrest.
Police said both defendants were prohibited from owning guns because of previous convictions. Prosecutors said Potts had been convicted of drug dealing, escape, assault, and resisting arrest. Arrington was still on probation for a July 2009 robbery conviction, according to court records. Uqdah’s court records show convictions for theft and drug offenses.
West Chester Police Chief Scott L. Bohn said the investigation continues. Anyone with additional information should contact West Chester police at 610-696-2700.
Contact staff writer Kathleen Brady Shea at 610-696-3815, kbrady@phillynews.com, or @brandywinebits on Twitter. Read
her blog, “Chester County Inbox,”
at www.philly.com/chescoinbox.