In the fall of 2008, a grim discovery was made in an apartment above a North Philadelphia car stereo shop, a business that authorities would later reveal was a front for a nationwide drug paraphernalia distribution network. Inside, police found the bodies of two men, one of whom was 47-year-old Kenneth Lockwood. Both men had been bound with duct tape and shot in the head in what was described as an execution-style killing.
Lockwood, a male resident of the apartment at 2951 N.
Fifth Street, was no stranger to law enforcement. Just months prior to his death, he was one of four men arrested in a drug raid on the very same property. The raid had uncovered significant quantities of materials used to dilute narcotics. Following this arrest, Lockwood was facing charges for the distribution of drug paraphernalia and had been released on a substantial $500,000 bail. He was awaiting a pretrial conference at the time of his murder.
The second victim found alongside Lockwood was an unidentified Hispanic man believed to be in his 30s. The double homicide was a violent end to a chapter of criminal activity that had been operating out of the unassuming car stereo storefront.
Despite the clear indications of a targeted and brutal crime, information regarding any subsequent investigation has remained elusive. To date, there have been no publicly announced arrests, and no suspects have been named in connection with the deaths of Kenneth Lockwood and the unidentified man found with him. The case remains a stark and unresolved crime in the city's history.
