D.A. Frees Would-Be Cop Killer; Now Wanted For Murder

Wanted for Murder

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

On Feb. 9th, Furqan Dhulqurnatin, 21, of Germantown, was in the vicinity of the 4800 block of Knox Street when he allegedly fired shots at Philadelphia police officers, who escaped injury.

On Feb. 11th, police arrested Dhulqurnatin and charged him with eight gun crimes, including two felony charges of carrying firearms without a license, and six misdemeanor gun charges.

Bail was set at $100,000 monetary, meaning the defendant had to post 10%, or $10,000, to get out of jail. 

What happened next: a preliminary hearing was scheduled but judges granted three continuances, the last two at the request of the D.A.'s office. Why? Because the officers involved in the shooting incident hadn't been cleared yet by the D.A.'s investigators, so they weren't available to appear in court to testify against the defendant.

On April 1st, a judge granted a motion for modification of bail down to $50,000 monetary, meaning the defendant had to post $5,000 to get out of jail. But the defendant couldn't afford it, so he stayed in custody. 

On April 29th, however, the D.A.'s office made a motion to withdraw all eight charges. And then, according to court records, that same day Dhulqurnatin was released.

Less than a month later, on May 23, 2022, at approximately 9:11 PM, 39th District officers responded to a radio call report of a "person with a gun" at 185 W. Logan Street. Upon arrival, the cops discovered a shooting victim suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in the back.

The victim was transported by private vehicle to Temple University Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 9:33 p.m. Police have not yet released his name. 

A preliminary investigation determined that the victim was involved in an argument approximately 90 minutes before the shooting occurred. The person that the victim allegedly was arguing with was identified as Furquan Dhulqurnatin, after he was caught on surveillance video.

 Today, the homicide unit was circulating a notice to detectives that Dhulqurnatin was wanted for murder and gun charges. The defendant, described as 6 feet tall and 165 pounds, with facial tattoos, is considered armed and dangerous.

Cops I talked to were disgusted by the fact that Dhulqurnatin was back on the street again so he was free to allegedly kill someone. But that's justice Krasner style. We should be used to it by now.

Neither Krasner nor Jane Roh, his official spokesperson, responded to a request for comment about why the D.A.'s office freed Dhulqurnatin.

In Philadelphia, the gun violence continues unabated. 

NBC10 reported that four people were murdered yesterday, including a teenager, a 45-year-old man shot seven times in the body, a 44-year-old man shot once in the head, and 20-year-old shot multiple times in the body.

NBC also reported an incident where a gunman wearing a white mask, black clothing and riding a mountain bike opened fire on people in the 3500 block of Fairmount Avenue in Mantua. 

The gunman shot a 19-year-old woman, her 34-year-old mother, a 60 year-old man and a 19 year-old man, whom police said was the gunman's intended target. He was reported in critical condition after being shot multiple times in the right side.

And finally, NBC10 reported that a man walking his dog in Kensington at midnight was shot at 36 times by a couple of gunmen who pulled up in a red car. 

Markeem McLeod, 23, of Tioga-Nicetown, who was still clutching his dog's leash, was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The dog was unharmed. 

As of last night, Philadelphia's body count stood at 193 murders. It's a 7% decrease over last year's all-time record of 562 murders. But at this rate, the city will still hit 522 murders this year. 

And Steve Keeley of Fox 29 was reporting that the city has 546 carjackings so far this year, which was way ahead of last year's pace of 847 carjackings for the entire year. 

Meanwhile, today in Philadelphia Municipal Court, the D.A.'s office found another way to disrespect cops.

Shot at cop; gets a deal from D.A.

Devon Smith, 21, of Southwest Philadelphia, was in court on nine charges that included attempted murder, assault of a law enforcement officer, and three gun charges.

Smith was charged  for a December 2020 incident where he allegedly fired a shot at an officer, causing burn marks on the officer's face as well as a temporary hearing loss.

The officer was responding to a domestic incident on the 1200 block of South 56th Street, when Smith drew his gun and fired.

At the time of the incident, D.A. Krasner told Fox 29, "We are grateful that these officers emerged from this dangerous incident alive and largely uninjured. The allegations against this defendant are serious, and he will be held accountable by my office and the courts."

"Anyone who would fire a shot at a police officer is someone who has no business owning a gun," the D.A. said. "Our officers should not have to contend with a city and nation that has more guns than people. I once again call on local and national leaders to keep all of our communities safe by stringently restricting the manufacture and commerce of deadly firearms."

On Dec. 23, 2020, Smith was held on $2.5 million bail monetary, meaning he would have to post a 10% deposit to get out of jail. On May 28, 2021, Smith's bail was reduced to $999,999 monetary. 

In court today, Smith was facing at least 20 years in jail. But today, according to a police source, the D.A.'s office surprised courtroom observers by negotiating a plea bargain with Smith that calls for a sentence of just 4 to 8 years in jail.

It was another episode of Let's Make A Deal with Let 'Em Loose Larry.

As usual, Krasner did not respond to a request for comment.