HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that charges were bound for trial following a recent preliminary hearing regarding a shooting last month on a SEPTA subway in Center City Philadelphia.
Lester Perez, 27, is charged with attempted murder, carrying a firearm without a license, and related offenses in connection with the June 18 shooting at the 15th Street Market-Frankford Line Station. Perez and the victim engaged in a verbal dispute inside a subway car before Perez shot the other man, from inside the subway car.
The Philadelphia Police Department investigated and arrested Perez shortly after the shooting. The Office of Attorney General’s Special Prosecutor for Mass Transit presented evidence at a preliminary hearing Wednesday, before all charges were bound over to county court.
“This case involved a brazen, senseless act of violence on a SEPTA subway with numerous passengers in close proximity when the defendant callously opened fire,” Attorney General Sunday said. “Our partners with the Philadelphia police acted swiftly to take the shooter into custody, and our office will handle the prosecution of these very serious charges.”
The mass transit prosecutor was put into effect via Act 40, which was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor in December 2023.
Perez, also known as John Perez, is also charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor counts of possessing an instrument of crime, simple assault, and reckless endangerment. Formal arraignment is scheduled for July 15.
The victim was shot in the abdomen and was treated at an area hospital.
Criminal charges, and any discussion thereof, are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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