District Attorney Larry Krasner on Tuesday said he strongly disagreed witha judge’s decision to overturn the murder conviction of a man who killed Philadelphia Police Officer Moses Walker Jr. in 2012 and vowed to appeal.
Krasner said Common Pleas Court Judge Jennifer Schultz, who handed down the ruling Monday, was “legally incorrect” in vacating the conviction of Rafael Jones, who is serving life in prison for killing the officer during a street robbery at the end of his shift.
But Krasner, speaking at a news conference alongside Walker’s mother and FOP President Roosevelt Poplar, said Jones’ conviction was different from others involving Nordo that have since been reevaluated.
“We believe now that Rafael Jones is guilty — that he murdered Moses Walker Jr.,” Krasner said.
If the appellate court denies the district attorney’s appeal, he added, “We will be retrying this case. We have a lot of evidence to do so. And we will be retrying it vigorously.”
Walker, 40, was shot and killed shortly before dawn on August 18, 2012.
The officer had just left the 22nd District station in North Philadelphia dressed in civilian clothes when Jones and another man, Chancier McFarland, targeted him in a robbery, prosecutors said.
Jones fired at Walker after the officer reached for his gun, according to prosecutors. Both men were arrested, and McFarland pleaded guilty and testified against Jones as part of a deal to avoid life in prison.
Years later, during Nordo’s sexual abuse trial in 2022, one of his accusers testified that the detective steered him toward a $20,000 reward and later raped him.
Though Krasner acknowledged the “messy history” that came with Nordo’s involvement in Jones’ case, he said the district attorney’s office was confident in the conviction.
There were multiple pieces of evidence that pointed to Jones’ guilt, he said, including a murder confession that was not introduced at trial because Jones did not testify, and McFarlane’s eyewitness account of the crime.
“We concluded years ago that this conviction was in the category that should not be disturbed,” Krasner said.
The district attorney’s office will appeal Schultz’s ruling to Superior Court, a process Krasner said could take up to two years.
Poplar, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, said he had faith that Krasner’s office would prevail.
“Yesterday was a tough day,” he said, echoing comments made by Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, who said he was disappointed by the ruling.
Walker’s mother, Wayne, said she and her family “would not allow these latest developments to weaken us.”
“We remain confident justice will prevail,” she said, adding that she hoped that the death of her son, not the vacated conviction of his killer, would “remain at the center of this case.”
“No decision rendered can alter what happened on August 18, 2012,” she said.
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport filed the state’s fourth open lawsuit against Amazon on Tuesday, accusing the tech giant of creating worse work conditions for lower pay through its “anticompetitive” delivery driver network.
“Today, my office is acting to stand up for thousands of New Jersey delivery drivers who are being exploited every day by one of the world’s biggest, richest corporations,” Davenport said at a news conference.
The suit homesin on Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners (DSPs) program, which the company advertises as an opportunity for prospective entrepreneurs to open their own business while partnering with the tech giant by managing a local system of drivers. But these businesses are beholden to Amazon, Davenport argues, and the tech giant’s system prevents drivers from unionizing or getting better work conditions.
“These are the workers who bring Amazon packages to our front doors,” she said. “They often show up in Amazon vans, wearing Amazon vests, carrying boxes with the Amazon logo on them. And in our view, they are working longer hours in worse conditions and for less money because of Amazon’s anticompetitive behavior.”
These drivers earn “significantly less” than drivers for UPS, FedEx, and the U.S. Postal Service, according to the complaint.
The complaint describes a work environment of employee surveillance, union busting, and drivers having no choice but to urinate in water bottles to meet Amazon’s metrics.
“They must accept invasive surveillance that monitors their every moment and action while at work and face the possibility of immediate termination for the smallest infraction or failure to meet these unreasonable requirements,” the complaint states.
Steve Kelly, a spokesperson for Amazon, pushed back strongly on the claims made in the suit and accused Davenport of choosing to hold a news conference rather than seeking a greater understanding of the program.
“This complaint is not grounded in fact. The Attorney General’s characterization of the DSP Program and the claims about working conditions are just wrong. The truth is, DSPs are independent business owners who make their own decisions about hiring, fleet management, and capacity planning — and they choose whether to work with other companies besides Amazon,” Kelly said in a statement.
“Had the Attorney General bothered to look at the facts, they would have also seen that the vast majority of routes are finished on-time or early — built on real-world data accounting for stop complexity, traffic, and geography. DSPs manage their drivers’ workday and route execution, and DSP employees are free to choose their employer and associate with who they want, full stop.”
Kelly said the company was confident that it would prevail in court.
On its website, Amazon advertises the DSP program as providing “the unique opportunity to create jobs in your neighborhood and lead a team that delivers gifts, textbooks, and pet food to your community.”
But Davenport’s office argues that the DSPs “are anything but independent.”
“Rather, Amazon keeps control of the levers that matter — setting demanding operational requirements, monitoring driver performance, controlling route allocations, and restricting DSPs from hiring one another’s drivers — with exploitative consequences for the drivers themselves,“ her office said in a release.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit.
Davenport also alleges that Amazon monitors DSP workers with artificial intelligence and cameras inside the vehicles they drive, and that the company has intimidated and retaliated against drivers who were suspected of union organizing.
The complaint cites an incident in Queens, N.Y., in which Amazon allegedly sent drones to blacklist striking workers. It also cites an instance in Edison where workers were allegedly told that labor organizing could endanger DSP’s partnership with Amazon, putting their jobs in jeopardy.
The suit claims also accuses Amazon of blacklisting workers who support unionization from a broad network of DSPs, and cites workers who were terminated after their bosses learned they supported labor organizing.
Amazon is the dominant purchaser of this delivery driver labor, and since it is about buying rather than selling, their alleged anticompetitive practice is called a monopsony, rather than a monopoly. Davenport’s office said this is the first time a state has filed a monopsony complaint.
It adds to a list of court battles with the company.
In September 2023, former Attorney General Matthew Platkin joined the Federal Trade Commission and other states in suing the tech giant for allegedly maintaining a monopoly. Last October, Platkin filed one complaint over the company’s treatment of pregnant people and workers with disabilities, and another over how Amazon classifies certain workers as independent contractors and therefore denies them rights and benefits.
Davenport’s lawsuit Tuesday is the first lawsuit against Amazon filed under Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration, but the state’s top lawyer said the three other cases are ongoing.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, alleges violation of the federal Sherman Antitrust Act and New Jersey’s Antitrust Act and seeks damages for DSP drivers and for Amazon to stop the alleged behavior.
Doug Reeser first came to St. Peter’s Village as a youngster, running along the rocks at French Creek, like so many locals and tourists still do. As an adult, the charm of the quirky little village drew him and his partners to open a branch of their cidery business there three years ago.
He’s one of many wondering what could change when the village goes up for auction in September, with more than a hundred home lots and a smattering of businesses available to the highest bidder.
“There’s lots of positive energy around what’s happening, so I think generally everybody would love to be able to see that continue,” said Reeser, owner of Excursion Ciders at the Snug. “I know personally we’d love to stay there. We anticipate some changes with new ownership. We hope that we can absorb them, but obviously, it’s not unlimited change that we can handle.”
The auction, scheduled for Sept. 30 at 2 p.m. at the Desmond Hotel Malvern, will put up for sale roughly 83 acres of the historic 19th-century village that sprung up in the Gilded Age, thanks to its rich mineral resources and its proximity to the creek. It became a recreational destination, one that people are still drawn to because of its scenic location. Visitors are able to take a dip, hike the nearby trails, and enjoy the artsy downtown.
Nestled in Warwick Township — which has a population of roughly 2,600, according to newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau — the small village could see a bump in residences, if initial development visions are seen through. The land, zoned for residential and neighborhood business, offers 121 subdivided home lots for development. A commercial core — which boasts dining and retail — is composed of both privately owned businesses and leased storefronts that will be picked up by the new owner. Thirteen commercial buildings, totaling about 43,500 square feet, are included in the auction, according to the site.
The auction site teases mixed-land use development potential “suitable for major builders, venture capitalists, historic preservationists, and entrepreneurs.” The auctioneer, Douglas Clemens, said previously they had seen thousands of messages of interest — but who ultimately purchases the property remains to be seen.
And concepts of high- and low-density housing from the previous owner — the Piazza family, which runs the Piazza Management Co. and owns multiple Main Line car dealerships, is listed on associated parcels — haven’t exactly come to fruition, and the site could be a challenge for new owners given its rural location.
Reeser is among the renters who would love to see current businesses stay, and some rehabilitation of the historic buildings that have suffered some neglect in recent years, he said. He doesn’t think anyone would be opposed to more foot traffic in town, but too much could tip the scales.
“There is this rural charm there, and that is part of what the village has built its reputation on over the years,” he said. “So, if development could be done with an eye towards preservation and minimal impact, I think that would be great.”
The 83-acre St. Peter’s Village — a historic destination in Chester County will be sold at an absolute public auction to the highest bidder in September.
What could residential development look like?
The property offers an opportunity for someone to develop housing to the north and east on the available land, said Matt Edmond, executive director of the Chester County Planning Commission.
Land development plans available through the auction site previously have laid a densely populated housing development near the commercial core on roughly 36 acres. Generally, that’s a good thing, Edmond said.
“Our villages are kind of like small towns, and when they have a walkable commercial core, you want more dense housing in and around there to support those businesses to increase foot traffic,” he said of Chester County.
An aerial view of one proposed development — which the current owner envisioned as a densely populated townhouse, twin, and single-family neighborhood — shows several completed homes.
Eight buildings are unfinished, Clemens said. One finished building is occupied, and the lease would move over to the new owner.
In the county’s comprehensive plan, there are areas called “rural centers,” built around larger villages, Edmond said. There are similarities among those places: a commercial corridor on a main road, with streets fanning out for walkable neighborhoods. St. Peter’s could become a rural center, if the previous vision was fulfilled. The growth would be somewhat akin to Marshallton or Unionville, other Chester County villages that people enjoy visiting.
St. Peter’s scenic, rural location offers a bit of a unique problem. Though the village isn’t far from Elverson or Pottstown, it’s still a bit out of the way. Reeser, the business owner, has found the village to be seasonal, with business bolstered by an occasional social media post. In the winter, the cidery, open on Saturdays and Sundays, is frequented by locals.
The 83-acre Saint Peter’s Village, a historic destination in Chester County, will be sold at an absolute public auction to the highest bidder in September.
“The whole village, by and large, is somewhat off the beaten path. It’s not really near a highway. It’s certainly not near transit. There isn’t a whole lot around it,” Edmond said. “That’s probably one reason why the current owners couldn’t quite make it work, because the market just wasn’t quite there yet to do that sort of thing in that sort of place.”
But just because the village has had challenges with finding footing for residential development, that doesn’t mean it’s ripe for other types of development — such as a data center, other industrial sites, or even a major shopping center.
The village is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which doesn’t necessarily safeguard it from demolition. But it provides some protections, particularly if government funds are being used.
Plus, its current zoning would have to be changed, and the infrastructure and conservation easements don’t “lend itself towards intense development,” Edmond added.
“I think a lot of people are worried about that because they do see other parts of the county developing more intensely,” he said. “Every community is different, and Warwick Township is still very rural, and so it wouldn’t be surprising if a new owner tried to develop consistent with the character and the nature of Warwick, and certainly Warwick leaders would be looking for that type of development within their boundaries as well.”
The 83-acre St. Peter’s Village, July 2026.
Rich in natural resources
The auction site notes the property’s “valuable subterranean mineral rights, including documented iron ore deposits, adding a rare investment dimension.” Those materials once bolstered the village’s economy, transporting its iron to Philadelphia. But it also became a place of leisure: a getaway for city workers, a majestic retreat to a scenic place.
The village is surrounded by outdoor recreation, with state game lands adjacent to the property. French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust holds easements on a portion of the land. The easements are perpetual, and must be honored.
Karl Russek, conservation director at French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust, anticipates the organization will be in conversation with the prospective bidders, working closely with future owners “to help them understand those limitations, and [we] are open to seeing what they have to offer and how the conservation value of the property might be improved.”
But “much remains to be seen” for what could come to the land, he said.
“St. Peter’s Village, and the area around it, is a very special place and has been a very special place for generations of families in this area. I took my kids down there when they were little. My peers remember spending time there when they were younger,” Russek said. “It’s a community hub in many ways, and so obviously many folks in the area are very invested in what ultimately happens, as are we as an organization.”
Reeser hopes to see a purchaser who understands all of what makes it beloved — its natural beauty, its historic buildings, and its unique setting.
“Change is inevitable, most likely, in this situation,” he said. “But if we could keep sort of what’s made it special alive, I think that would be great.”
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What does disaster look like? Well, let’s start with what it sounds like, because it sounds a lot like Dombrowski’s voice.
“Our first goal is to make the playoffs,” the Phillies president said Monday, prefacing an answer about the potential postseason impact of a day headlined by the acquisition of free-agent-to-be Luis Arraez for fast-rising pitching prospect Ramon Marquez, “so, I hope we’re dealing with clubs in the postseason.”
Luis Arraez has won three batting titles and is leading the National League with a .324 average going into Monday’s games.
The words that followed don’t really matter. What matters is the qualification. I have written this plenty of times before. Hope is not strategy. It is a lack of options, one that is usually a function of decisions made prior.
Dombrowski has been the man in charge of making the Phillies’ baseball decisions for five-and-a-half years. Five-and-a-half years into Andrew Friedman’s tenure with the Dodgers, he was en route to his first World Series win, after having already lost two, one in seven games. He’d salvaged Max Muncy from the scrap heap, signed Justin Turner and Chris Taylor, traded for Kiké Hernandez, and then Mookie Betts, drafted Will Smith, Andy Pages, and Walker Buehler. Just as important, he’d swung a series of minor league trades that helped lay the groundwork for the Dodgers’ recent acquisition of two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.
Long story short, Dombrowski has reached a point where the problems he must solve are all of his own making. He did not draft Alec Bohm or Bryson Stott, but he did not pivot off them, either. He signed Trea Turner to a $300 million contract. He oversaw the move of Harper from right field to first base. Four years ago, he could have leveraged top prospect Logan O’Hoppe in a trade for a young, cost-controlled right-handed hitter, or a young, cost-controlled pitcher instead of Brandon Marsh. He did not lose the trade. But, in the grand scheme of things, given the circumstances, did he win it?
The circumstances are this:
It isn’t necessarily a disaster to ask three-fourths of your infield to change positions midseason so that two players can continue to play a position where they aren’t the best defensive option.
As a result of the trade for Luis Arraez, Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper will move back to right field.
It isn’t necessarily a disaster to move one of those players from the infield to the outfield, where he hasn’t played more than eight games since 2021. Nor is it to move another of those players (Stott) from second base to third base, a position where he has started just 12 games since high school.
It isn’t even necessarily a disaster to do all of these things in order to add another lefty bat to a lineup that already suffered from a glut of them. Nor it is necessarily a disaster that the new left-handed bat is a top-of-the-order bat, and thus does little to remediate the lack of middle-of-the-order thump behind Harper and Kyle Schwarber.
Don’t get me wrong. Any one of these things could be a disaster. One might argue that, in sum, the odds are strong that they will be a disaster. But these are perfectly defensible moves in isolation, and maybe even in sum. The Phillies can, did, and will continue to argue that Arraez is exactly the kind of bat their lineup needed. They can, did, and will continue to argue that he can play good enough second base to warrant the downgrade there along with the question marks at third base and in the outfield.
The real disaster is that the Phillies found themselves in a predicament where they needed to make these moves. The real disaster is that these moves so preoccupied their energy and resources that they failed to address what were arguably their two greatest needs. The real disaster, above all else, is the desperation premium that the Phillies and Dombrowski were forced to pay just for the hope that it might somehow work.
Marquez may never amount to anything as a major leaguer. As devastating as his changeup is — the minor league strikeout rate is absurd — the fastball and the health are what matter first and foremost. He is 20 years old. He is befuddling class-A hitters. But the success or failure of the Arraez trade isn’t just a matter of who Marquez will be as a major leaguer. It is also matter of who else the Phillies might have traded him for.
This past offseason, Arraez signed a one-year contract with the Giants worth $12 million. That’s roughly $2 million more than the Phillies paid to Garcia, for whom nobody would be trading, even if healthy. They did the same thing last season, albeit at a far lower price, acquiring Harrison Bader to help replace free agent mediocrity Max Kepler. In fact, the Phillies have done the same thing every season of Dombrowski’s tenure, to one degree or another. They are the little boy at the leaking dam, their fingers outnumbered by the holes they must plug. It is losing math, even before you factor in the market.
Second baseman Bryson Stott will move over to third to make room for Luis Arraez in the Phillies’ infield.
Dombrowski and his minions will argue that they could not have simply signed Arraez for $12 million. They had Stott at second base, after all. And they had Bohm at third. They couldn’t move either because they had Turner at shortstop and Harper at first. And yet, here they are.
For nearly six years they’ve been here. Each of the last three have been as obvious as the last. Bohm, Stott, J.T. Realmuto, Justin Crawford, Marsh, Garcia — none of them has underperformed any realistic expectations. And yet, here they are.
“We added the top hitter in the league to the offense, a different type of hitter than we have,” Dombrowski said of Arraez. “Somebody that gets on base, sets the stage for some of our big guys, doesn’t strike out as often, who can do things with the bat.”
These are helpful things, no doubt.
More helpful is to build an organization that avails you with those things before the panic sets in.
