Two men were charged yesterday in connection with the Aug. 26 incident that occurred in front of Republican Mayoral Candidate Sam Katz's North Philadelphia campaign office.
Tumar Alexander, an assistant managing director of the city, and Joey Temple, a part-time city worker, turned themselves into police yesterday. Both were charged with one misdemeanor count of terroristic threats, and Temple was charged with another misdemeanor count of harassment, according to District Attorney spokeswoman Cathie Abookire.
The men are accused of threatening the building manager of the Wharton Center, located on the 1700 block of 22nd Street in North Philadelphia.
Two separate arguments took place on the afternoon of the 26th, one between Alexander and the building's landlord Lewis Harris, and the second between Harris and Temple.
Temple was harassing Harris for renting space to the Republican candidate in an area known as a Democratic stronghold, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Alexander was reportedly with Mayor John Street's son, Sharif, while Sharif was searching for office space for the Street campaign nearby.
That night, two items were thrown through the windows of the Katz office, which features a "Democrats for Katz" sign. A brick went through one of the windows, and what is being described as possibly an unlit firebomb went through another.
The charges against Alexander and Temple are not related to the vandalism, and Philadelphia Police Detective Terence Sweeney said yesterday that police will be conducting no further investigation into the incident.
The evidence in Katz's office -- which could have led to charges in the apparent attempted firebombing incident -- was removed by a maintenance man who responded to a report of a gasoline odor coming from inside.
The maintenance man found a glass bottle with some liquid in it. He then disposed of the bottle in a public trash receptacle on the street.
The next morning, however, the maintenance man was alerted to the broken windows, and a rag was found in the office that could have possibly served as a wick for an explosive commonly known as a Molotov cocktail. The rag did not appear to have ever been lit.
Without the bottle, there was not enough evidence to proceed in investigating or filing charges against anyone, Sweeney said.
Alexander and Temple have not been implicated in the apparent attempted firebombing.
Both men turned themselves into police without incident yesterday after the Philadelphia District Attorney's office approved the charges against them late Wednesday.
As a result of Alexander's apparent involvement with the Street campaign, he was suspended from his job without pay on Sept. 2 for one week for violating the city charter, which prohibits city employees from taking part in politics.
"I expect him to return to work, keep his nose clean and resume performing the types of services that have resulted in his helping people throughout the city," City Manager Philip Goldsmith said in a press release yesterday.
"If during the judicial proceedings, additional facts arise or Mr. Alexander is found guilty, or in the meantime he is unable to perform his job effectively, I will take the necessary action."
Katz said in a press release Wednesday that he is relying on the police to investigate the matter and is looking forward to moving beyond the incident.
"Two weeks ago, I held a press conference to call for all Philadelphians to act civilly and respectfully to one another during this campaign," the statement said. "We can disagree about politics, but we must do so respectfully."
Street spokesman Mark Nevins said he doesn't believe that this issue will detract from the overall message of the campaign, either.
"Neither Tumar Alexander nor Joey Temple works for the campaign," he said. "None of this has anything to do with Mayor Street's agenda."
