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14-year-old charged with murder in traffic cone attack on 72-year-old, PA police say

Pennsylvania police released security footage that showed teenagers repeatedly beating the 72-year-old man with a traffic cone and filming themselves.
Pennsylvania police released security footage that showed teenagers repeatedly beating the 72-year-old man with a traffic cone and filming themselves. Screengrab from Philadelphia Police Department's video

A 14-year-old boy, Richard Jones, is charged with murder as one of the teens who fatally beat a 73-year-old man with a traffic cone, according to Pennsylvania authorities. Another 14-year-old girl involved also turned herself in but no charges have been announced.

Jones and his 10-year-old brother turned themselves in to Philadelphia police on Monday, July 11, according to Fox 10.

The younger brother was later released, Fox 10 reported.

Jones was charged with third-degree murder and criminal conspiracy, the Philadelphia Police Department said in a news release.

On Wednesday, July 13, a 14-year-old girl suspected of being involved in the incident turned herself into police. Police have not released her name or charges.

According to police, Jones is one of the teens who was caught on camera beating a 73-year-old man with a traffic cone in northern Philadelphia on June 24.

The group of seven teens were seen in security footage striking the victim several times and knocking him to the ground. A boy is seen striking the victim once and another girl is seen striking the victim at least twice. The victim – later identified by media outlets as James “Simmie” Lambert – died from the injuries to his head.

In footage released by police, the teens appeared to film the incident.

Jones lives a few block away from where the incident took place on Cecil B. Moore Avenue, police said.

Police are still investigating the incident.

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This story was originally published July 13, 2022 at 11:41 AM with the headline "14-year-old charged with murder in traffic cone attack on 72-year-old, PA police say."

Aspen Pflughoeft
McClatchy DC
Aspen Pflughoeft covers real-time news for McClatchy. She is a graduate of Minerva University where she studied communications, history, and international politics. Previously, she reported for Deseret News.
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