Suspect Turns Himself in to Warminster Police

A Philadelphia man turned himself in to Warminster police this afternoon after a grand jury indicted him with homicide stemming from a shooting that occurred in 1973.

The charges allege that Domingo Lopez Negron, 58, fired a bullet into the back of Joseph Kwiatkowski during a brawl outside the Hoagie Hut in Warminster Heights more than 35 years ago, according to the grand jury report. After reviewing the autopsy report from the medical examiner in Florida, where Kwiatkowski resided, Dr. Ian Hood ruled that the 54-year-old Kwiatkowski's death in January 2009 was a result of infections caused by the shooting.

"My client denies the charges," said Craig Penglase, Negron's attorney, during remarks to the press. "He denies pulling the trigger, and there have been too many intervening events between the shooting and [Kwiatkowski's] death to show the injury was the direct cause."

Negron was already tried, convicted on eight counts related to the shooting and sentenced in December of 1973 for 1-3 years, of which he served about one year. Since then, Negron worked various warehouse and labor jobs before going out on disability 10 years ago. He currently lives with his girlfriend of 20 years and their four children.

According to police records presented to the grand jury by Detective John Bonargo, on May 13, 1973, officers responded to a shooting on the corner of Van Horn and Downey drives and found Kwiatkowski, his brother John Kwiatkowski and Rodney Zerby lying on the ground with gunshot wounds to the back, leg and hand, respectively. 

William Kwiatkowski told the grand jury that he and his brother, John, were hanging out at the Hoagie Hut when Negron pulled up with his two brothers and an uncle, hopped out of the car and began attacking them. Kwiatkowski believes the attack was in retaliation for a previous altercation stemming from a drug deal gone bad.

When word reached Joseph and Zerby, who were nearby at Kwiatkowski's sister's house, they ran off to join the fight. At this point, said William, Negron went back to his vehicle, pulled out a gun and began firing. The weapon was never recovered by the police.

Negron invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during the grand jury investigation and refused to answer any questions regarding the shooting. His brothers, Jorge and Guillermo, who were also involved in the incident, testified that they were attacked unprovoked by a group of white men and heard gunshots during the fight, but neither of them saw who fired them.

After getting processed by the Warminster police, Negron was arraigned by District Judge Dan Finello.