There’s more to the story of the kids who fatally beat a 73-year-old man with a traffic cone, lawyers say

James Lambert Jr.’s death made national news.

The 73-year-old was chased down by a group of kids in North Philadelphia on June 24 and beaten with an orange traffic cone. He suffered a head injury and died the next day.

In the weeks after, police released a video of the seemingly brazen attack, seeking the public’s help in identifying the children. Within days, the kids — one as young as 10 — turned themselves in. Of the seven there that night, two teens were formally charged with third-degree murder and conspiracy: Richard Jones and Gamara Mosley — both 14 years old.

The story was tragic on all levels, with many questioning how kids so young could wind up contributing to Philadelphia’s homicide crisis. But the lawyers representing some of the teens involved that night say there’s more to the story than what’s shown in the video and being framed in the media.

“I am not downplaying what happened to Mr. Lambert. It was a tragedy,” said attorney Caroline Turner, who’s representing Jones pro bono. “I’m just saying that this was not an evil bunch of kids marauding the streets looking for somebody to beat up — and that’s been the impression.”

Philadelphia police declined to discuss the case, pending the court proceedings. The District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that the “investigation of this tragic crime is active and ongoing,” and that the office “has a duty to seek justice by following the law and the facts, wherever they lead us.”

Here’s how the evening unfolded, according to three of the children’s lawyers and surveillance video of the attack:

The evening of June 23 began with Richard Jones and his 10-year-old brother planning a sleepover with their cousin and a teammate on their football team.

The four boys left the Joneses’ North Philadelphia home around 9:15 p.m. to sleep at the cousin’s house, just a short walk away. They were supposed to go straight there but stopped on the way over to play basketball at Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center, where Jones worked as a camp counselor.

There, they met up with three girls — classmates at their school — and the teens hung out and played on the rec center playground well into the night.

Around 2 a.m., James “Simmie” Lambert Jr., a lifelong neighborhood resident, was sitting on a bench in the park area. It’s unclear who initiated the confrontation, but Lambert told the kids they shouldn’t be out so late and to go home. The kids taunted Lambert in return, and at one point, a girl slapped him and threw a container of Chinese food at him, according to Turner and the 10-year-old’s lawyer, Raina Major. Donte Mills, who is representing a 13-year-old girl who was not charged, said no one slapped the man.

Lambert yelled at the kids as things escalated, and picked up an orange traffic cone and threw it toward the kids to try to get them to leave him alone.

Just before 2:30 a.m., as Lambert tried to leave the park area and cross Cecil B. Moore Avenue near 21st Street, surveillance video showed Jones and two others — his 10-year-old brother and Mosley — running after him. Jones takes the traffic cone from Mosley and throws it at Lambert.

It hits Lambert, and he falls to the sidewalk. Jones walks away, crossing the street and out of the camera’s view, presumably to get his bag.

With Lambert still on the ground, Mosley hits him with the cone again, despite another boy’s attempt to block the throw.

A 13-year-old girl stands covering her mouth in disbelief, another boy looks shocked. The 10-year-old appears to be filming with Mosley’s phone, nervously jumping up and down and telling her to stop, according to Major.

Lambert stands up and tries to walk away, but Mosley retrieves the cone again, runs after him, and bashes him twice more with the cone.

The man lay on the ground, bleeding heavily from his head. Three of the kids run to his side. The 10-year-old hands Mosley’s phone to a passerby to call for help.

Surveillance of the kids gathering around the corner 20 minutes later shows Jones appearing to imitate Lambert getting struck.

Lambert suffered head injuries, police said, and died the next day.

Turner, Jones’ attorney, said the autopsy will be key in determining which blows contributed to Lambert’s death. She believes, though, from reviewing the unredacted version of the video, that when Jones threw the cone, it hit Lambert in the shoulder and did not cause him to hit his head on the ground.

“I don’t believe it was [Richard] throwing the cone at Mr. Lambert that killed him,” she said.

And when Mosley hit Lambert, Turner said, Jones was across the street retrieving his bag — which she says could mean he was not present when the fatal blow was delivered.

Law enforcement has opted to charge only the teens who struck Lambert with the cone. Jones and Mosley are being charged as adults under a Pennsylvania law that excludes certain charges like murder, rape, and other serious offenses from juvenile court.

Mosley’s lawyer, Lonny Fish, did not respond to an interview request. Mosley’s mother has apologized for her daughter’s actions.

In the aftermath, Lambert’s family has mourned the loss of their beloved “Simmie” and called for swift justice.

“I want everyone to be charged, everyone,” Lambert’s niece Tania Stephens told Fox29. “I don’t want house arrest. They were all part of the crime. No matter if they actually threw a cone, they were there. Everyone’s guilty – from the 10-year-old to the parent.”

Turner said the family of the children involved — particularly Jones’ family — is struggling. The 10-year-old, she said, is traumatized.

Jones was a good student, she said, who had no school disciplinary record. He’d just graduated from middle school, where he’d won a community service award, and was working at a summer camp.

“There was no conspiracy,” Turner said. “This all happened unexpectedly, off the cuff, because of an altercation.”

Jones’ and Mosley’s bail was set at $750,000 and both remain in custody at the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center. Their preliminary hearings are scheduled for later this month, though Turner plans to file a request that Jones’ case be handled in juvenile court.

“It’s hard to wrap your head around that it can happen with a traffic cone,” said Major, the 10-year-old’s lawyer. “There was no reason, no logical reason, for it to wind up in this man’s death.”

But tragically, Major said, it did and now it will play out in court.