Edwin Laboy, 46, a Hispanic/Latino man, was killed in the early morning hours of April 17, 2016, inside a rowhouse in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood. The violence unfolded at 637 East Westmoreland Street after a group of people gathered at the home of James Elijah Dickson. Court records say the group had been together the night before, eating, drinking alcohol, and using marijuana and PCP.
Tension grew through the night, especially between Dickson and Kenneth “Kenny” Stowe, who had been asked to leave more than once but kept returning.
According to the later court summary, Dickson had already become agitated before the shooting. He accused people downstairs of trying to kill him, while others tried to calm him down. After one man, Alphonso Liverpool, left the house, Dickson came downstairs with a shotgun. Stowe was in the living room when Dickson shot him in the head. Ziyon Laboy ran for the door and was shot twice in the arm before escaping. Dickson then shot Edwin Laboy, who was also in the living room, in the head.
The terror moved into the kitchen, where Joel Almonte and Christine Chromiak had run to hide. Dickson followed them with the shotgun, pointed it at Almonte, and Almonte managed to knock the gun aside and flee. After Almonte escaped, Dickson shot Chromiak three times. When officers later entered the home, they found the bodies of Stowe, Edwin Laboy, and Chromiak. Police also recovered numerous spent shotgun casings, a camouflage-printed shotgun, and unspent shotgun shells on Dickson.
After the shootings, Dickson called 911 and remained inside the home as police arrived. Reports said he told dispatchers he had shot three people, that he was armed with a shotgun, and that he would not open the door until the sun came up. Police and SWAT officers surrounded the house, and Dickson fired shots from inside toward SWAT members who were on the roof. Around 5 a.m., he came out of the front door and was taken into custody.
Dickson was charged with three counts of murder, along with attempted murder, aggravated assault, and related offenses. Edwin Laboy was publicly identified as one of the deceased victims shortly after the standoff; the other two victims were later identified in court records as Kenneth Stowe and Christine Chromiak. A fourth victim survived after being shot in the arm and was taken to Temple University Hospital in critical condition.
The case did not remain unsolved. In May 2017, Dickson went through a non-jury trial and was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault on police officers, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, possession of an instrument of crime, and being a person not to possess a firearm. On May 24, 2017, the court sentenced him to three consecutive life prison terms. His later post-conviction appeal was rejected, and the Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the denial of his PCRA petition in 2023.
