Some of the juveniles tried to stop fatal traffic cone attack, lawyer says; 14-year-old girl charged with murder

Some of the juveniles seen in the video of the fatal traffic cone attack on James Lambert Jr. tried to help the 73-year-old man, then called for medical help when he was unable to get off the ground, said a lawyer for a 13-year-old girl who was questioned by police Wednesday and then released without being charged.

Attorney Donte Mills said he accompanied the girl and her parents to speak with homicide detectives Wednesday afternoon, and the girl explained how she wasn’t part of the attack, tried to stop it, then called 911 for Lambert and waited by his side with two other juveniles until medics arrived. The girl apologized to Lambert for what had happened, Mills said.

In the surveillance video released by police, the 13-year-old girl can be seen suddenly stopping and covering her mouth when another girl throws the traffic cone at Lambert. When the other girl picks up the traffic cone again, the 13-year-old can be seen running after her. When Lambert is hit a second time, the 13-year-old stops and covers her mouth again.

“My client was actually trying to stop her friends from antagonizing and later assaulting Mr. Lambert,” Mills said in a phone interview.

Earlier on Wednesday, a 14-year-old girl, who authorities have identified as Gamara Mosley, surrendered to police. Officials announced Thursday that she and has been charged with third-degree murder and conspiracy.

On Monday, 14-year-old Richard Jones and his 10-year-old brother surrendered to police for questioning Monday. Jones has also been charged with third-degree murder and conspiracy. His 10-year-old brother was released by police without being charged.

According to police, Lambert was crossing Cecil B. Moore Avenue near 21st Street just before 2:40 a.m. on June 24 when a group of juveniles assailed him. In a surveillance video, one of the participants — police say seven juveniles were involved — can be seen knocking him to the ground with a traffic cone. A girl can be seen in the video picking up the traffic cone and throwing it at Lambert, who then appears to stagger down Cecil B. Moore, followed by the girl, who retrieves the traffic cone and throws it at him again.

Lambert suffered head injuries and later died, police said.

Mills said Lambert hit his head on the ground when he fell.

Mills said the 13-year-old girl told police the group had met up in response to a group text at a park and were “playing around” until they left. As members of the group exited the park, they saw Lambert sitting on a bench and some in the group started to provoke him, Mills said. The girl told police she had never seen Lambert before that day.

Someone picked up a discarded container of Chinese food and threw it in Lambert’s direction but did not hit him, Mills said.

The girl told police that Lambert responded by grabbing a traffic cone and throwing it toward the group but not hitting anyone directly, Mills said.

As the situation escalated, the 13-year-old girl and another juvenile tried to stop the attack, Mills said. The other juvenile did not stay with Lambert before medics arrived.

The girl told police Lambert was unable to get up, but his eyes were open and he was moving, Mills said.

“None of the kids recognized the seriousness of the [medical] situation,” Mills said.

The girl called 911, but a passerby spoke on the phone to explain Lambert’s condition, Mills said, adding that police have a record of the girl’s phone call.

Mills called his client, who will start high school this fall, and the some of the other juveniles “good kids” who tried to help Lambert and did not participate in the assault.

The attack on Lambert occurred 12 days before Mayor Jim Kenney signed a bill implementing an earlier curfew for Philadelphia teens for the rest of the summer.

Under the new curfew, which took effect Thursday, kids age 17 and younger must be indoors and off the streets by 10 p.m.; those 13 and younger must be home by 9:30.