Enric D. “Ricky” Wilson, a 56-year-old Black/African American male, was killed on Sunday, February 16, 2020, in Chester, Pennsylvania. That evening, at about 5:54 p.m., police found him on West Third Street suffering from a gunshot wound to his torso. The shooting left him gravely injured in the street, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
In the days after Wilson's death, Chester police identified Matthew Hightower as the suspect they believed was responsible for the shooting.
Investigators issued an arrest warrant for Hightower and asked the public for help locating him. Online reporting later stated that Hightower turned himself in after authorities began searching for him, placing him in custody to face charges connected to Wilson's death.
The case eventually moved from a wanted-suspect investigation into a criminal prosecution. Hightower, described in sentencing coverage as a Chester man, later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Wilson's 2020 shooting death. Rather than proceeding through a full public trial ending in a jury verdict, the available reporting indicates the case was resolved by that guilty plea.
At sentencing in Media, Pennsylvania, Hightower was ordered to serve 7½ to 20 years in state prison for the voluntary manslaughter conviction. The sentence marked the known punishment tied to Wilson's killing, closing the public record of the case with Hightower convicted and sent to state prison for the fatal shooting.
