Man arrested in fatal shooting of woman in Northeast Philadelphia bar

A 47-year-old man was arrested Wednesday in the shooting death of a 21-year-old woman who was struck in the head by a stray bullet inside a Northeast Philadelphia bar last week, police said.

Anthony Nelson was apprehended around 4:30 p.m. in a room at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, Robert Clark, supervisor of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, said in a phone interview. The room was registered under the name of a woman who answered the door, and Nelson was taken into custody without incident, Clark said. Investigators believe Nelson had been staying at the hotel for several days and was avoiding Philadelphia, where he lived.

Nelson was being held at the Atlantic County Correctional Facility awaiting extradition to Philadelphia, where he will be charged with murder and related offenses for allegedly firing at least 15 shots into the Philly Bar & Restaurant at 2417 Welsh Rd. after getting kicked out for causing an earlier disturbance, police said.

Jailene Holton was with friends and was supposed to be their designated driver when she was fatally wounded the night of June 28. She was transported to a hospital and died early the next morning.

“We are happy he was caught,” said Holton’s grandmother, Karen McConnell, in a Facebook message to the Inquirer. “Justice will be served. He took a big part of my heart.”

» READ MORE: ‘Young, bright’ bystander killed in shooting at Northeast Philadelphia bar

Nelson, whose last known residence was in Philadelphia, was with two other men who were all kicked out of the bar around 11:30 p.m. on June 28. The other two men left voluntarily, but Nelson was forced to leave, police said.

Nelson then allegedly walked to a pickup truck about 200 feet away and shot at least 15 times into the front of the bar. Five of the bullets went through the window and one struck Holton.

A relative of Holton’s set up a GoFundMe page to help the family defray funeral costs. As of Wednesday evening, more than $32,000 had been raised.

“On June 28th our Jailene was an innocent bystander caught in the middle of another senseless act of violence in the city,” Victoria Holton wrote on the page. “Jailene was a young, bright and beautiful young woman with her whole life to look forward to. She just recently celebrated her 21st birthday. Now her dad, sister and remaining family are left grieving the sudden tragic loss of Jailene.”

Holton’s funeral is scheduled for Thursday morning.

Her obituary said she worked at the Target department store by the Neshaminy Mall. Holton was described as a “social media enthusiast” who enjoyed taking selfies and posting videos to TikTok.