DAO Releases Additional Information on Jan. 13 Homicide in Brewerytown
By: Philadelphia Dao
Tags: Homicide, Press Release, Bail Reform, Philadelphia

CONTACT:

Jane Roh, 215–686–8711, Jane.Roh@phila.gov

PHILADELPHIA (Jan. 20, 2021) — District Attorney Larry Krasner on Wednesday released additional details of a homicide investigation for which Josephus Davis (DOB: 12/31/2000) has been charged with Murder, and for which Philadelphia Police have identified a second person of interest:

“On January 13th, Milan Loncar was brutally murdered as he walked his dog. I am so sorry for the Loncar family’s loss, and know that nothing can repair the grievous injury they have suffered.

“Unfortunately, there are those who want to weaponize this tragedy to lay blame on our prosecutors. This should be a time for mourning and reflection, but I also want to be clear about what our office did in the suspect’s prior cases.

“In February 2020, the police identified 20-year-old Josephus Davis as the individual who had committed a motor vehicle theft, kidnapping, and aggravated assault in July of 2019. At that time, Davis was in prison serving two concurrent sentences for prior robbery offenses. To ensure that he would not be released from custody on the new charges even after he finished serving his robbery sentences, our office requested that the court set bail at $250,000. The bail magistrate, however, denied our prosecutor’s request, and instead set bail at $100,000.

“In September 2020, while Davis remained incarcerated, our office filed additional charges against him following an assault on a corrections officer. Out of belief that Davis could not safely be released ahead of trial on the new charges and consistent with our office’s COVID-19 policies, our office requested bail be set at $999,999. Again, the bail magistrate instead set much lower bail, this time at $200,000.

“Davis subsequently requested a bail reduction in both cases. We objected to both motions to reduce bail. The hearing judges overruled our objections in both cases, and reduced bail to an amount that Davis was able to post.

“We make requests; judges set bail after hearing from both sides. Sometimes, judges set the bail we request. Other times, they do not. We strenuously disagreed with the judges’ decisions in all four instances related to this defendant.

“It is outrageous that a family’s tragic loss and trauma is being weaponized for political sport. Attacks attributing Milan Loncar’s death to policies from our office are grotesque lies about how the criminal legal system actually operates. We asked the courts to keep Davis detained four consecutive times. Those claiming this devastating murder happened because of a ‘lenient’ bail policy in my office are lying, and they surely know it. The loudest of those voices embraced Trumpian disdain for truth and facts long ago.

“Our office’s policy specifically provides that prosecutors should request defendants be held on all cases where the accused’s release poses a serious threat to the community. They did so in this case, within the confines of Pennsylvania’s deeply flawed cash bail system. The cash bail system too often results in people who are poor or in need of counseling and treatment being needlessly incarcerated, while truly dangerous people — like Josephus Davis — are able to pay their way back into our communities. Nor are there substantive pretrial interviews or services after the initial bail setting to allow criminal legal system partners to make more informed decisions. I challenge those who are truly interested in making sure the criminal legal system works in service of justice and public safety to join our office in seeking to reform the pre-trial system. Anything less than meaningful action is just ghoulish, self-serving politics.

“Like our partners in the legal system, our office does not always get things right, but we always try to be fair and we constantly fight hard to protect this community in the best way we know how, as we did here. I hope this sets the record straight.

“I want to express my deep condolences again to the Loncar family. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office will fight like hell to see justice done in this case, as we always do.”

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The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office is the largest prosecutor’s office in Pennsylvania, and one of the largest in the nation. It serves the more than 1.5 million citizens of the City and County of Philadelphia, employing 600 lawyers, detectives, and support staff. The District Attorney’s Office is responsible for prosecution of approximately 40,000 criminal cases annually.