Kearney withholds judgment in shooting; family mourns York City man
York County District Attorney Tom Kearney said he will remain impartial as he awaits a state police report on the death of a man fatally shot by a York City police officer in York City early Saturday morning.
"I'm supposed to be impartial ... that's my job," he said. "This is the first (officer-involved shooting) I've had, so I'm trying to handle it in the proper way. Hopefully, it will be the last one."
Victor Arvelo, 24, of 219 Grantley St. in York City, died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the York County Coroner's Office, which has ruled the death a homicide.
State police are conducting the investigation into the shooting and will turn over their results to Kearney, who must then decide whether the homicide
is justifiable.
Sgt. Robert Kelly of the state police barracks in Loganville said he had no timetable as to when the investigation would be complete. He said troopers are following their
standard investigative protocols in looking into Arvelo's death.
The background: State police said Arvelo robbed York resident Paulo Sanchez, 43, of his car keys outside the WaterWay Bar & Grill in the 200 block of West Philadelphia Street. That was shortly before 1:30 a.m. Saturday, police said.
Sanchez ran to the bar for help, and employees ran toward Arvelo, who was trying to start the car, police said.
Two York City officers happened to be patrolling in the area and chased Arvelo, who by that point had taken
off on foot, state police said.One of the officers caught Arvelo, but he resisted and pulled out a pistol, police said. One of the officers then shot Arvelo, who died at York Hospital at 2:43 a.m., police said.
The pistol Arvelo pulled was stolen, according to state police.
York City Police Chief Wes Kahley has said it appears the officers acted properly.
DA briefed: Kearney said he was briefed about the shooting by state police shortly after it happened.
Troopers had a number of witnesses to interview, and were looking to see whether any surveillance cameras caught footage of the incident, he said.Kearney said he has no opinion yet as to what happened.
"It would be premature to comment in any way, since I haven't seen the report," he said.
Arvelo was a single father. His daughter, Emery Alexis Arvelo, was born in March 2009, according to York Dispatch records.
Disbelief: Jariel Arvelo, 20, of York City, said he and family members can't believe Victor Arvelo would have been involved in a robbery.
"He wouldn't do something like this," Jariel Arvelo said of his older brother. "He was always a hard worker. ... He was a guy you could always count on --
who you could always talk to."Victor Arvelo worked at Penn Waste as a loader for nearly three years, according to company president Scott Wagner.
"For us, it's a tragic, shocking thing," Wagner said. "He was a valued employee. He came in and he did a good job."
Arvelo worked that Friday, according to Wagner.
Family grieving: Jariel Arvelo said he and his family are grieving and trying to understand what happened.
The family moved here from Brooklyn, N.Y., in 2001 for a better life, Jariel Arvelo said, and to be safe.
Victor Arvelo loved his daughter and always put her first, according to his brother.
"He changed his whole life around when his daughter was born," Jariel Arvelo
said.Victor Arvelo graduated from Crispus Attucks' YouthBuild Charter School, according to his brother. Messages to YouthBuild were not immediately returned.
'Good kid': Susan Rebert, wife of former district attorney Stan Rebert, spent eight years at YouthBuild as a community liaison. She said she was shocked to hear of Victor Arvelo's death.
"When he was at YouthBuild, he was a good kid. He worked hard and did extremely well," she said. "He was one of our best."
Rebert said some students, after leaving YouthBuild, can slip back into old, bad habits because they no longer have the support, encouragement and resources the school offers.
"But I truly thought Victor was one who was going to make it,"
she said. "I just don't know what he was thinking. It's very sad, but I don't think the police did anything wrong."The two York City officers involved remain on paid administrative leave, Kahley said.
-- Reach Elizabeth Evans at levans@yorkdispatch.com, 505-5429 or twitter.com/ydcrimetime.
Read more at www.ydr.com
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