Attempted-murder charges filed against Philly police shooting suspect Maurice Hill

Attempted-murder charges were filed Saturday against Maurice Hill for allegedly shooting six police officers during a dramatic 7½-hour standoff Wednesday, the largest mass shooting of Philadelphia police in decades.

Charges were also brought against four men accused of being involved in what police have described as an illegal drug operation led by Hill, two of whom were trapped along with two police officers in the Tioga house while the evening shootout paralyzed a neighborhood and made national news.

Hill, 36, appeared at an arraignment Saturday morning via video conference while he was being held at a Philadelphia police investigative unit at 24th and Wolf Streets in South Philadelphia.

The father of two, including a daughter born two days before the shooting, appeared defiant, sitting with his arms crossed and head down. He responded “I guess” when the magistrate asked if he understood the charges against him, and then said “I am not an immediate danger” after a prosecutor argued he should remain in custody and be denied bail.

After the hearing, Hill, who was denied bail, was transferred to Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on State Road, jail records show.

Charged with 11 counts of attempted murder, Hill faces a litany of other charges, including aggravated assault, assault of a law enforcement officer, and other drug and firearm possession offenses. District Attorney Larry Krasner has said that Hill could spend the rest of his life in prison. A representative from the Defender Association of Philadelphia argued on his behalf.

» SPECIAL REPORT: Minute by minute, how a standoff in North Philadelphia left six cops wounded and a city reeling.

The two alleged drug dealers upstairs in the house on North 15th Street as Hill allegedly fired an AR-15 at police outside were Terrence Williams, 32, and Ronald Ellis, 37, both of Philadelphia. Charged with drug possession with intent to deliver and conspiracy, their bail was set at $500,000, with release possible if 10%, or $50,000, is posted.

Also charged with drug possession with intent to deliver and conspiracy — but not present in the 15th Street house during Wednesday’s shooting — were Dwayne Turner, 31, of West Chester, and Raynell Rodgers, 30, of Philadelphia. Bail was set at $250,000, with release possible if $25,000 is posted.

Williams, Ellis, Turner, and Rodgers also are being held at Curran-Fromhold. Preliminary hearings for all five men are scheduled for early September.

On Wednesday afternoon, Hill, who has an extensive criminal history, opened fire with an AR-15, authorities believe, as narcotics officers barged into 3716 N. 15th Street after reportedly seeing someone carry a duffel bag into that house. That was shortly after officers had served a warrant two doors away, at 3712 N. 15th St., arresting four people on the porch there. A police SWAT unit would later rescue Williams and Ellis, along with two officers trapped with them on the second floor of 3716 N. 15th, while Hill talked by phone with Police Commissioner Richard Ross, Krasner, and defense attorney Shaka Mzee Johnson. Hill surrendered just after midnight, right after tear gas was fired into the house, where police said an AR-15 was found. Hill had a handgun in his pocket, police said.

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At Saturday’s arraignment hearings, Assistant District Attorney Lyandra Retacco said that police on Wednesday had spotted Williams running with a black plastic bag from 3712 N. 15th St., where police had executed the search warrant, into 3716 N. 15th St., where the shootout and standoff ensued. Records show Williams co-owns the latter home.

Williams has several prior convictions, including a 2017 guilty plea to charges of endangering the welfare of a child, a 2012 guilty plea to charges related to filing a false insurance claim, and a 2008 conviction for marijuana possession.

Retacco said Ellis, Turner, and Rodgers were each observed by police — who had the area under surveillance for days — taking part in suspected drug activity.

Each has a criminal history.

Ellis is awaiting an October trial on previous charges of drug possession with intent to deliver. His arrest history, which dates back to 2003, includes time in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to drug manufacture and delivery. Turner’s background includes a 2010 probation sentence on robbery charges. Court records indicate he was later sentenced to spend up to a year in prison for violating that probation. He was again found guilty of felony drug charges in 2011.

Records show Rodgers was sentenced in 2012 to four to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to gun-related charges. He also pleaded guilty in 2009 to charges of drug possession with intent to deliver.