Murder Charges Held In South Street Shooting That Killed 2, Hurt 11

PHILADELPHIA — Two men accused of firing randomly into a crowd after hearing gunfire on South Street in Philadelphia back in June had murder charges filed against them held in court.

Nasir Jackson, 18, of Drexel Hill, and Namir Jones, 18, of Philadelphia, appeared in court for their hearing on charges filed in connection with the June 4 shooting on South Street.

The court held murder charges for both, as well as firearm, conspiracy, and related charges Wednesday.

The two are accused of shooting into a crowd randomly after hearing gunfire that broke out when two men got into a fight the shot at one another.

They are scheduled to appear for a formal arraignment on Sept. 28, court records show.

Killed were Alexis Quinn, 27, and Kristopher Minners, 22.

Eleven others were injured in the shooting.

Philadelphia authorities said the two appear to have pulled out firearms and started shooting randomly when gunfire broke out between Gregory Jackson and Micah Towns.

Jones and Jackson did not know the others involved in the incident, authorities said.
Gregory Jackson, 34, was shot and killed by Towns, who was injured in the shooting.

The two were extradited back to Philadelphia after being captured by U.S. Marshals in Virginia several days after the shooting.

Prosecutors said Jackson was four days short of turning 18 years old when the shooting occurred at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday, June 4 on a two-block stretch of South Street.

He is being charged as an adult, and authorities said the case will likely proceed as an adult case.

The two were taken into custody at about 12:25 p.m. in Virginia without incident by the United States Marshals Service after receiving tips about their whereabouts, according to authorities. It's unclear what connection Jones and Jackson have to Virginia.

Authorities said Jones had a felony warrant for his arrest for failure to appear in court on a stolen vehicle case in Delaware County.

Authorities said so far they know of four shooters: Gregory Jackson, Towns, Whittington, and Dukes-Hill.

Towns was acting in self-defense after Gregory Jackson and Rashaan Vereen attacked him on the 200 block of South Street, then Jackson fired at Towns, which led Towns to fire back, killing Jackson, authorities said.

Gregory Jackson and Towns both had permits to carry firearms, but a new report shows Jackson was issued his permit in Delaware County even after he was found to be illegally possessing a firearm and the charge was not filed due to a clerical error.

Vereen has been charged with attempted murder, conspiracy, aggravated assault, obstructing administration of law, tampering with evidence, and related offenses.

Another person who knew Towns, Quran Garner, 18, is charged with four counts of aggravated assault, two counts of assault of a law enforcement officer, violations of the uniform firearms act, and related offenses.

Garner is accused of firing a "ghost gun" toward the scene where Gregory Jackson, Vereen, Towns fought, which led police to fire at Garner, striking him in the hand.