Source: Suspect in cop shooting may be tied to drug murder

Wounded Police Officer Edward Davies is responding to doctors after an emergency surgery Wednesday to remove one of his kidneys, police sources said Thursday.

Doctors removed the organ so they could treat a bleeding artery that was nicked by the bullet allegedly fired by Eric Torres in a Feltonville minimart on Tuesday. After removing the kidney --  also damaged in Tuesday's shooting -- they were able to control the bleeding. He has another surgery scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday.

Meanwhile, Torres, 31, was arraigned early Thursday morning and ordered held without bail on charges of attempted murder, assault on a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, weapons violations theft, receiving stolen property and other charges. His next court date is Sept. 4.

Torres is not talking to investigators, but they now believe him to be the main suspect in the June 18 killing of Luis Acevedo on the 2800 block of North Lawrence Street in Fairhill.

The description of the car involved in that murder matched a car Torres drove at the time.

Shortly after the slaying, he traded it in for the BMW he crashed Tuesday, police sources said. Investigators believe Torres killed Acevedo, 46, because he owed him money over drugs.

On Tuesday night, crime scene investigators recovered a 9mm handgun from Torres' home as well as about $40,000 to $50,000 worth of packaged ready-to-sell heroin. The .45-caliber handgun he allegedly used to shoot Davies was stolen in a June 2012 from a retired suburban officer in a Northeast Philadelphia burglary.

Police are conducting ballistic tests to determine if either of Torres' guns matches evidence found at the Acevedo crime scene, sources said.

Tuesday's shooting began when Torres was stopped by police for a broken taillight in the BMW, but fled the scene. After crashing his car, Torres fled into the nearby Almonte Minimart -- a block away from his home -- and shot Davies, who had followed him into the store, police said.

Davies has worked his entire six-year career in the 25th District. Last year, he received a Commendation of Merit for a 2011 kidnapping arrest, a police source said.

Fellow officers said Davies is very well liked and  known for his laid back personality. He is a big Eagles fan, and the type of guy, who away from the job enjoys rock music -- preferably Kiss -- good cigars and a Budweiser in his backyard, they said.

His youngest son turned two a week ago today.

Police sources also offered new details Thursday about the 2009 assault of two police officers
25th District officers after they spotted Torres selling drugs on the corner of Third and Indiana.

Seeing the cops, he ran into a corner store. When they approached him, he allegedly said: "It ain't gonna be that way today."

He reportedly threw punches at the officers, bodyslammed one of them, and for a moment gained control of one of the officer's expandable batons.

In a non-jury trial, a judge dismissed the charges. According to police sources, the judge ruled  the officers did not have enough injuries to warrant a conviction for assault.

Earlier Story

 Homicide detectives are investigating Eric Torres, the suspect in Tuesday's shooting of Police Officer Edward Davies, in connection with the June 18 death of a Fairhill man gunned down as he walked to his construction job, a law enforcement source said Wednesday.

Luis Acevedo, 46, was shot several times in his torso around 5 a.m. on the 2800 block of North Lawrence Street. A gunman fired at least eight shots from close range, police said.

A car owned by Torres was believed to be involved in the killing, the source said. Shortly after Acevedo's death, the source said, Torres traded in the vehicle for the BMW that, following a traffic stop, he crashed minutes before he ran into a mini-mart in Feltonville, where he struggled with officers and shot Davies.

Crime-scene investigators recovered large amounts of packaged heroin and a 9mm handgun from Torres' home a block from the market on the corner of Fourth and Annsbury Streets.

Police are investigating whether the gun found in Torres' home was used in the killing of Acevedo. No charges have been filed.

A law enforcement source said police think Acevedo's death involved a drug dispute.

On Wednesday, Davies underwent the second of what is expected to be a series of operations for the bullet wound to the abdomen he suffered in a struggle with Torres, an ex-convict armed with a stolen handgun, authorities said.

The nature of the surgery at Temple University Hospital was not disclosed, but after Davies was wounded and underwent an emergency operation, Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said he faced a number of surgeries, which is not unusual for such wounds.

Davies, 41, remained in critical condition Wednesday, a police spokeswoman said last night.

Torres, 31, also remained hospitalized with unspecified injuries at Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he was under police guard awaiting charges.

Damage to the windshield of the car Torres crashed before being cornered indicated he may have suffered head injuries when the vehicle hit the wall of a recycling plant.

Police said officers stopped Torres in his 1998 BMW for a broken taillight, but he sped off, crashed the car, and then fled on foot, seeking refuge in the store.

Armed with the stolen .45-caliber handgun, Torres shot Davies in the abdomen just below his bulletproof vest during the struggle inside the store.

On the Northeast Philadelphia street where Davies lives with his wife and their 2-year-old son, neighbors said they were praying for the six-year veteran of the force. Davies also has three older children who live elsewhere.

"He's always with his wife and kids. He's quiet," neighbor Jack Hoffman, 56, said.

Neighbors described Davies as a big Eagles fan, and Alicia Hoffman, 21, said the officer hosted tailgate parties in his driveway with a big-screen TV in his garage to broadcast games.

Jack Hoffman said he knew Davies was a police officer but said they never talked about the dangers of the job.

"I'm just hoping everything works out for the guy," Hoffman said.

A police officer in a patrol car was parked in front of Davies' home Wednesday. He said he was there to safeguard the property.

Another neighbor who declined to give her name said "all the neighbors love" the Davies family and added, "We're all praying for him."

In Torres' Feltonville neighborhood, a teenager who lives two houses down from the suspect's home said, "He seemed peaceful."

"He would just be on his own," the teenager said.

He added that sometimes Torres was accompanied by two children, about ages 8 and 10, and a woman.

Torres owned two motorcycles and frequently rode them, the teenager said.

A native of Puerto Rico, he moved to Philadelphia in 2005 and has spent much of the time since in jail, court records show. He has acknowledged heavy drug use, including daily use of heroin, crack, and marijuana, and frequent use of painkillers.

Court records paint a picture of Torres as a drug dealer who in two cases assaulted officers who tried to arrest him.

Ramsey has assailed Torres and his record.

"We have plenty of time to start worrying about this guy - why he's out, what he did in the past," Ramsey said. "He should never see the light of day again, that's for sure. And we'll do everything in our power to see to it that he will never hurt anybody again, ever. Whatever it takes to do that, we're going to do it."

Contributing to this article were Inquirer staff writers Bob Fernandez, Dylan Purcell, and Vernon Clark.