Brian Baur
A Frankford man has been charged with murder for fatally shooting a suspected thief who, he claims, was trying to break into his pickup truck last Thursday night, Philadelphia police said.
Authorities didn’t initially arrest Brian Baur, 56, of the 4500 block of Torresdale Ave., although Baur admitted that he fired the fatal shots. Patrol cops went to Baur’s block at 10:21 p.m. in response to a report of a person with a gun. Baur greeted the officers and told them he had shot someone who was attempting to enter his truck, police said. The vehicle reportedly was parked on an alleyway, the 4500 block of Josephine St., just west of Torresdale.
Police found Richard Hull, 30, of Maple Shade, N.J., on the ground and unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities charged Baur with the slaying on Saturday.
According to news reports, Baur claimed to police that Hull had threatened him and had been holding an unknown object in his hand. After the shooting, Baur remained at the scene and, upon police arrival, surrendered his gun to them. Homicide detectives interviewed Baur at Police Headquarters that night.
Saturday’s arrest was not Baur’s first. In August 2002, he was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and related offenses, but the District Attorney’s Office withdrew all charges four months later, according to court records. Details of that case were unavailable early this week.
Baur is in Philadelphia prison custody without bail and awaits a Sept. 10 preliminary hearing. ••
