Police arrest both Lorena’s Grocery suspects

Police have arrested two men in the brutal slaying of three family members who worked in a West Philadelphia corner grocery September 6, 2011.

The Philadelphia Police Department’s and FBI’s Violent Crime / Fugitive
Task Force arrested the second suspect, Nalik Shariff Scott, 27, today without incident. Authorities arrested the first suspect, Ibrahim Muhammed, 31, Friday.

Homicide Capt. James Clark was quoted at a press conference Friday as saying that the Homicide Unit had plenty of evidence and was “100 percent sure” that the two men were the killers.

A break came in the case when police were able to tie the suspects to a robbery at Jaquez Grocery on the 2400 block of North 62nd Street that occurred weeks before the Lorena Grocery incident, police said.

That robbery provided new surveillance video that showed the suspects more clearly. Police said it helped generate tips that revived the case and led to arrests.

Muhammed and Scott are accused of shooting Porfirio Nunez, 49, his wife Juanna
Nunez, 44, and his sister Lina Sanchez, 48, multiple times during what appeared to be a robbery at Lorena’s Grocery on the 800 block of North 50th Street. Nothing was taken.

Metro caught up with Javish Sanchez, who currently works at the reopened store operating under the name LPC, Jan. 6. He was in the apartment he shared with his mother above the store when the shooting occurred and rushed downstairs to find her bleeding to death. He lost his aunt and uncle in the shooting, as well.

Discouraged by investigators’ lack of leads, he said at the time, “The only thing I can say is this: Somebody knows something and they’re
not saying anything. … I guess I’m just waiting for justice from God.”

Hopefully, with these arrests, justice will come more swiftly for Sanchez, the rest of his family and the community.