By Derrick Nunnally
The Philadelphia Inquirer
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. — An off-duty SEPTA police sergeant shot and killed a neighbor Wednesday night in Perkiomen, and prosecutors were weighing the officer’s claim of self-defense against a man known to have a long arrest record.
The slaying rocked their close-knit Montgomery County subdivision, where residents said the slain man had threatened several families on the otherwise peaceful cul-de-sac of two- and three-story houses in recent months.
“You don’t expect to come get a nice house in the suburbs and have something like this happen,” said Kim DiMaio, a neighbor.
Darryl Simmons, 48 and a 22-year veteran of the SEPTA police, said he shot Joseph McNair Jr. after his car had been nearly struck by McNair’s at an intersection near their homes, authorities said.
McNair stopped his car, got out and told Simmons, “You’re not built for this, I’ll blow you away.” McNair then reached back into his car and Simmons shot him, Simmons told investigators.
Simmons, who ordinarily patrols the subways for SEPTA, was transferred to a headquarters desk job while the slaying is under investigation, a spokesman said.
District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said that an autopsy was conducted yesterday and that the investigation was likely to take several days.
McNair’s age in court records was listed variously as 38 or 39. He had been prosecuted in state and federal courts for a variety of offenses, including allegations of murder, rape and kidnapping for which he was not convicted. His record included convictions for drug trafficking, harassment and contempt of court.
In June, McNair’s live-in girlfriend, Jia Smith, obtained a protection-from-abuse order, alleging in court papers that he had hit her in the face, slammed her against a wall, choked her and threatened to kill her.
Standing in front of Simmons and his family in the middle of the suburban street, Simmons’ attorney, Charles D. Mandracchia, depicted McNair as a dangerous man who regarded the justice system as a game he “knew how to play” to duck conviction.
“When you have all these charges against you, something is not right,” Mandracchia said.
McNair’s criminal record had become a topic of discussion in the suburb in January, when his next-door neighbor, Kevin Rodzinak, shot one of McNair’s rottweilers to protect a Jack Russell terrier the larger dog was attacking.
“She had several bad puncture wounds and was hurt pretty badly,” said DiMaio, who is a veterinarian and had been called over to treat the terrier after the bigger dog was killed.
At a town hall meeting after the shooting, neighbors passed around McNair’s arrest record and worried, several residents said. Rodzinak, who had shot McNair’s dog, bought a $7,000 burglar alarm, according to Mandracchia, who represented Rodzinak then.
Moments before Simmons shot McNair on Wednesday, Rodzinak and McNair had been arguing in the street in front of their homes, according to neighbors and police records.
Rodzinak told police that he, his son and his dog had been out walking when McNair drove home, and that McNair “leashed up his rottweiler and came jogging towards” them, according to a state police interview transcript obtained by Mandracchia.
“He started making threats about me and my family, and how I have a lot of nerve walking near his house,” Rodzinak said.
As their confrontation continued, another neighbor intervened. McNair, a black man, threatened both men and “at one point said that everyone in the development is a racist,” Rodzinak, whose race is not specified in the records, told police. " . . . After he said that the entire development was a bunch of racists, and that he was going to get us all, he walked away back towards his house,” he said.
Simmons, who is black, was not present during that confrontation, each man told police.
Simmons said he had just left home to pick up his daughter from soccer practice when his car met McNair’s Pontiac Vibe, sparking their fatal confrontation.
Authorities would not say whether the .357 caliber revolver Simmons used to shoot McNair was SEPTA-issued. Police found that gun on the seat of Simmons’ BMW. No gun was found in McNair’s car, authorities said.
After the shooting, Simmons called 911, asked for an ambulance, and waited at the scene until State Police, who routinely patrol the subdivision, arrived. Simmons said that he believed McNair had been reaching for a gun and that he fired in self-defense.
The Rev. Lewis C. Nash Sr., a first cousin of McNair’s, disputed Simmons’ account.
“If he was so afraid for his life, why did he get out of his car and shoot my cousin four times?” Nash said.
Mandracchia told reporters that McNair had earlier this year gone to Simmons’ house and threatened the entire family.
Jodi Beck, who lives across the street from Simmons, said much the neighborhood was aware of McNair’s arguments with his neighbors. She said Simmons was regarded as “a good man” who would not have instigated violence.
Smith, McNair’s live-in girlfriend, had formally withdrawn the restraining order Tuesday and wrote in a court document that he was no longer a threat to her. She could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Several others in the neighborhood said there had been a lingering wariness of McNair for months. The dogs behind McNair’s backyard fence seemed a danger to children, and their owner had for months seemed, to several neighbors, similarly volatile.
“Nobody knew what going to happen,” DiMaio said, “but everybody was waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
Copyright 2008 The Philadelphia Inquirer