Escaped teen linked to Fanta Bility fatal shooting captured after year on the run

MEDIA COURTHOUSE – A teenager who fled from a placement facility last year after being charged in the chain of events that ended with the gunfire death of 8-year-old Fanta Bility has been recaptured, and sent to the county jail in Concord awaiting a hearing next month.

Angelo “A.J.” Ford, 17, of the first block of High Street in Sharon Hill, is facing charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons offenses for allegedly shooting at 18-year-old Hasein Strand on the night of Aug. 27, 2021.

Steve Esack / THE MORNING CALL

Angelo “AJ” Ford

Ford escaped from an Aspire youth facility either the night of Feb. 24 or the morning of Feb. 25, 2022, according to First Assistant District Attorney Tanner Rouse. Law enforcement, including Pennsylvania State Police, had been searching for Ford since that time and he was finally located almost a year after his escape.

Few details on his capture were available Monday, but a spokesperson for Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer confirmed Ford was taken into custody by Philadelphia police in the city over the weekend.

Ford and Strand were charged for an exchange of gunfire shortly after an Academy Park High School football game on the 900 block of Coates Street in Sharon Hill, one block west of the football field.

Neither Strand nor Ford fired the fatal bullet that struck Bility, but both were initially charged with first-degree murder in Bility’s death under the legal theory of “transferred intent.” Stollsteimer later said that charge was not born out by the evidence as the investigation into the case continued and murder charges against both defendants were withdrawn.

Strand, of the 500 block of Felton Street in Collingdale, was sentenced to three to six years in prison in January 2022 after pleading guilty to aggravated assault and possession of a firearm.

How it happened

According to an affidavit of probable cause for Ford’s arrest written by Delaware County Detective Timothy Deery and Sharon Hill Detective Vincent Port, a verbal altercation ensued between a group of males exiting the game onto Coates Street as the game was letting out at about 8:45 p.m.

Investigators spoke with a witness who identified Ford as “AJ” and said he was flashing a firearm that was inside his waist band while making threats to others on the street, the affidavit read.

Another witness told detectives that they had spoken with Strand after the shooting and he stated there was some tension between Ford and Strand’s group of friends inside the football stadium, police said.

Port told a grand jury investigating the incident that Ford is affiliated with a gang in Darby Township and Collingdale, while Strand is associated with another gang operating in Collingdale known as Money Making Legends. The two groups are antagonistic toward each other.

Strand allegedly told a witness that Ford was flashing his gun to Strand as they exited the stadium, so he took his brothers to his car and retrieved his own firearm, then returned to Ford. Strand told the witness that Ford then shot at Strand, who returned fire, according to the affidavit.

Ford allegedly shot in a westbound direction toward Ridley Avenue and Strand allegedly shot back at Ford in the direction of the football field. The grand jury concluded that Ford fired five rounds from a .45-caliber weapon and Strand fired two shots from a 9 mm.

One of Strand’s bullets struck 13-year-old Hafize Sherif in the side of his torso at Kenny Avenue and Coates Street, about 140 feet west of three Sharon Hill police officers who were overseeing the stadium being let out from the only point of exit or entry on the 800 block of Coates.

Police get involved

The affidavit says that immediately after Ford and Strand fired their shots, the three uniformed officers discharged their weapons at a Chevy Impala making its way down Coates Street.

Those officers — Devon Smith, 34, Sean P. Dolan, 25, and Brian J. Devaney, 41 — fired a combined 25 rounds toward the vehicle, some of which went wide and into the pedestrians behind, according to the affidavit and a grand jury presentment.

Bility and her older sister, Mamasu, were among four people struck by police gunfire, according to the presentment.

Both had turned to run back up the pathway into the stadium as the officers’ gunshots rang out, when Bility was struck in the back by a single bullet that exited her chest, the presentment says. Mamasu also suffered a grazing wound to an ankle. Bility later died at a hospital despite life-saving efforts from Sharon Hill Police Officer John Scanlon.

Harry Fisher / THE MORNING CALL

Fanta Bility. (COURTESY PHOTO)

Dolan, Smith and Devaney have since been fired and were charged with one count each of voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter, as well as 10 counts each of reckless endangerment.

All three officers pleaded guilty in November to 10 counts each of reckless endangerment before Common Pleas Court Judge Margaret Amoroso. They are scheduled for sentencing March 31.

Rouse noted that he and defense counsel Mary Beth Welch had stipulated to Ford being placed in the juvenile unit of the county jail until an “interest of justice” hearing can be held to determine whether Ford should be tried as an adult or placed in the juvenile court system.

Common Pleas Court Judge G. Michael Green has scheduled that hearing, as well as a pre-trial conference, for 9 a.m. March 2.