Officer John F. McEntee, Jr. was killed while on duty in Philadelphia on the evening of February 20, 1971. The 24-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran had been parked in his patrol car at Woodstock and Norris Streets, working on a report after responding to a radio call that proved unfounded. Two young men, aged 15 and 18, approached from behind; the 15-year-old drew a pistol and fired twice into the back of McEntee’s head. Both youths were arrested and charged with murder.

The case produced multiple trials and appeals. The 15-year-old was convicted and given a life sentence in 1973; a retrial led to another life sentence in 1975. Legal challenges continued, resulting in a third trial where he was at one point released on bond, but in 1979 he was convicted again and returned to prison to serve life. The 18-year-old accomplice testified in exchange for a 3 to 20 year sentence. McEntee had been on the Philadelphia Police Department for about a year and a half and was survived by his wife and daughter.

Are there any readers who remember the neighborhood at Woodstock and Norris or who have information about McEntee’s service and the aftermath?