Authorities say 19-year-old fatally shot his stepfather Monday night
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
A homicide warrant has been issued for Deviane J. Scott, 19, of Caln Township, in connection with his stepfather’s fatal shooting Monday night.
Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said Deviane Scott, 19, is accused of murdering his stepfather, Joseph Durham, 36, after an argument about the family dog. “The defendant is armed, dangerous, and desperate,” said Hogan. “The Caln Township Police Department and Chester County Detectives have initiated an intense manhunt across the region for the defendant.”
Hogan said Scott had twice promised to surrender to police and then decided to stay on the run. “All law enforcement will be ratcheting up the pressure until we bring him in to face justice,” said Hogan.
According to the criminal complaint, Scott was home Monday evening with his mother, Michele Durham; his stepfather; and the couple’s two young children when Joseph Durham, who had just gotten out of the shower, told Scott to take the dog out. Michele Durham told police that a verbal dispute escalated into a fistfight and that she tried to call 9-1-1, but her cell phone battery was dead, the complaint said.
Michele Durham grabbed the younger children and put them in her car about 10:30 p.m., plugging in the cellphone as she headed for the police station, the complaint said. After she contacted police, she drove back to the apartment in the unit block of Thorndale Place, where she met officers and let them into the residence, the complaint said.
After noticing spent casings on the first floor, police took a ballistic shield to the second floor, where they observed more casings and bullet holes, the complaint said. In response to an officer’s inquiry about whether anyone was present, a male voice responded, explaining that he could not exit the bedroom because his son had shot him and he was injured. He said the gun was in the bedroom with him, but he did not respond when officers asked him to “throw the gun out to the police,” the complaint said.
The officers decided they could not safely proceed without backup, and an emergency response team was summoned, which subsequently found Joseph Durham deceased, the victim of five gunshots; the .40-caliber murder weapon was not located, the complaint said.
Two witnesses reported seeing Scott at the home around the time of the shooting, and one witness saw him come outside and obtain a gun from another individual before shots rang out, the complaint said.
Police executed a search warrant on Scott’s car, a BMW parked at the residence, and they found over $3,000 in cash and marijuana packaged for sale inside the vehicle, the complaint said.
The defendant is charged with homicide, weapons offenses, and drug offenses, Hogan said, adding that the U.S. Marshal’s Service and the Philadelphia Police Department have been alerted to the defendant’s homicide warrant.
