Two Philly men charged in two separate fatal shootings at suburban motels

Drugs and prostitution were the underlying activities that drew the victims to two suburban motels, prosecutors said.

Jonathan Tunnell and Charles Drewery are both accused of killing men using hotel rooms to host criminal operations, police said.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

Updated June 17, 2021, 2:56 p.m. ET

Published June 17, 2021, 1:23 p.m. ET

Two Philadelphia men have been charged in separate but similar murders in suburban hotel rooms that served as the settings for drug deals or prostitution, prosecutors said.

U.S. Marshals arrested Jonathan Tunnell, 40, near Philadelphia International Airport early Wednesday, two days after a maintenance worker at the Fairfield Inn in King of Prussia entered a room and found Henry Palmen, a 35-year-old Norristown resident, dead from a gunshot wound to the head.

Charging documents said text messages showed that Tunnell, who was released from prison last summer after serving 15 years for attempted murder, met Palmer there with the hope of buying large quantities of marijuana and marijuana-laced edibles. Palmen, prosecutors said, had shipped 18 pounds of marijuana to his half-sister’s house in Norristown.

Tunnell was filmed on the hotel’s surveillance system, and the distinct tattoos on his hands helped investigators identify him, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed in his arrest. He remained jailed Thursday in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility on murder and related charges. It was unclear if he had an attorney.

Charles Drewery, 41, was charged Monday in the killing of Tymell Fullwood inside the Econo Lodge in Tinicum Township during a March altercation, according to charging records.

Fullwood, 35, allegedly advertised “sexual favors” for sale on various websites. He rented the room and brought at least two women there to engage in prostitution, court records said. Hotel surveillance footage showed Drewery walking to the room on March 16 and pulling his gun from his waistband as he entered, according to the probable-cause affidavit filed in his arrest.

Fullwood fled the room moments later and collapsed in the lobby of a nearby Motel 6. He later died from a gunshot wound to his chest, investigators said.

Detectives found Drewery through his vehicle, a distinct orange Dodge Charger, the affidavit said. He also was wanted by Philadelphia Police for his alleged role in an armed robbery in March, court records show.

He remained jailed Thursday in Delaware County’s George W. Hill Correctional Facility on murder charges, and it was unclear if he had an attorney.