Two men stabbed a 71-year-old to death in a violent burglary, Chester police say
Ramadon Sudan and Damon Jones planned the murder over text message, according to police. Police say they stabbed Joseph Wright nearly 30 times during the robbery.
Two Delaware County men have admitted they killed a 71-year-old man, stabbing him nearly 30 times during a break-in at his apartment in Chester last month, prosecutors said Friday.
Ramadon Sudan, 29, of Brookhaven, and Damon A. Jones, 27, of Chester, planned the March 28 death of Joseph Wright over text, according to the affidavit of probable cause for their arrests.
Both were charged Friday with murder, as well as burglary, robbery, conspiracy and related crimes, the affidavit said. They were being held without bail.
It remained unclear Friday how Sudan and Jones knew Wright, or what relationship they may have had with him. Based on their text exchange, Sudan and Jones waited until after two women they knew left Wright’s apartment before they headed inside.
The investigation into those aspects of the case remained active Friday, according to a spokesperson for Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.
Wright’s younger brother, Charles, said in an interview Friday that his death has been a great loss for his family.
“We had a good life with him, and it’s sad that people would take the time out to take people’s lives like that,” he said. “We have those type of people in the world today that we have to live with, and hopefully they will get their just rewards.”
Wright, who was originally from North Carolina, moved to Chester about 20 years ago, according to his brother. The father of two had family in the city, and moved to be closer to them.
Wright’s family asked police to perform a wellness check on March 29 after not hearing from him for some time, the affidavit said. When they arrived to Wright’s apartment on Rose Street, no one answered, the document said, but the TV and lights were on, and the door was unlocked.
Inside, the officers found a trail of blood leading to Wright, who was lying on his back in a pool of blood, according to the affidavit. Strewn CDs and knocked-over speakers indicated there had been a struggle inside.
Medics pronounced Wright dead at the scene from 28 stab wounds to his torso.
The officers later discovered that his 2017 Ford Fusion was missing, and hours later learned that it been recorded by a license plate reader nearby in Chester.
They pulled the car over on West Ninth Street at 1:30 a.m. on March 30 and found Sudan behind its wheel, carrying eight vials of crack cocaine, the affidavit said.
On his cell phone, detectives discovered the text conversation in which he and Jones plotted the crime, the affidavit said.
Later, in interviews with police, both men admitted to breaking into Wright’s home and stabbing him. Sudan told investigators he took the key to the Ford Fusion during the incident, according to the affidavit.
Both men are scheduled to appear before District Judge Wilden Davis for a preliminary hearing on April 22.