'Many balls were dropped': Philly DA's office admits kidnapping suspect who 'shot dead college graduate' just two weeks after he was freed on bail should not have been released

Josephus Davis was arrested over the killing of Milan Loncar on Wednesday. He had only been released from prison on bail two weeks earlier 

The Philadelphia District Attorney's office has admitted to wrongdoings after it was revealed that a man accused of killing a young college student last week was a serial criminal out on bail despite a slew of serious offences. 

Milan Loncar, 25, was shot dead last Wednesday night while walking his dog about a block from his home in the Breweryton neighborhood of the city. 

Josephus Davis, 20, has since been arrested over the crime.

Davis had only been released from prison on bail on December 29 while awaiting trial on kidnapping and motor theft charges.

In order to be granted bail, Davis posted a $20,000 bond over those offences. 

The bond had been dramatically lowered from an initial sum of $300,000 - after his trial date was delayed eight times.  

Joanne Pescatore, with the District Attorney's Office, has now admitted mistakes had been made. 

'I'm sure many balls were dropped in this case,' she conceded on Tuesday. 

'His bail should not have been lowered, it was lowered to an extremely low level — such a level that he could make that bail. We are looking into the fact of whether or not we filed an appeal,' Pescatore stated. 

'Unfortunately we do see this in a lot of cases lowering of , and it is unfortunate for the citizens of Philadelphia but that's what we deal with.' 

Milan Loncar, 25, was shot dead last Wednesday night while walking his dog about a block from his home in the Breweryton neighborhood of the city

'I'm sure many balls were dropped in this case': Joanne Pescatore, with the District Attorney's Office , and  Philadelphia DA, Larry Krasner, both claim they were against the dramatic increase in Davis' bail amount which led to his release 

According to News Radio KYWM, 'Davis was convicted of assault charges as a teen and had two robbery convictions as an adult, plus two years of probation'

It has been reported that he had been arrested six times between February 2019 and February 2020. 

In February 2020, he was taken into custody and charged with kidnapping, robbing and carjacking an Uber driver in July the previous year. 

On that night, the ride-share driver stepped out of his Toyota Prius to urinate and left the motor of his vehicle running. 

He was then approached at gunpoint by two males - one of whom was purportedly Davis -  who took his phone and ordered that he get back into the car. 

They then drove the Uber driver around the city before releasing him and taking off in the Prius. 

Detectives tracked Davis through social media posts and phone records, before arrested him. 

He was charged with robbery to inflict serious bodily injury, kidnapping for ransom, conspiracy and gun charges. 

Davis spent almost 10 months behind bars awaiting trial, before the bond was dropped and he was released.  

Milan Loncar was walking his dachshund-chihuahua mix dog named Roo on Wednesday at about 7pm when he was shot dead just one block from his home in the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia. He is pictured with his girlfriend Olivia Gorski

Surveillance video caught the moment when Milan Locar, 25, was stopped by two men who rifled through his pockets and then shot him in the chest

HOW WAS HE OUT ON BAIL? JOSPEHUS DAVIS' RAP SHEET: 

March 2015: David was charged as a juvenile with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and simple assault. He was found to be an adjudicated delinquent on the assault charge, which is the same as a guilty verdict.

January 2019: He was charged with robbery and conspiracy. His bail was set at $20,000. The charges were later dropped but refiled by the DA in August. His bail was revoked the following month.

October 2019: He pleaded guilty to both of the charges above and was sentenced to between 6 to 12 months in prison with two years probation. He bail was reinstated.

January 2020: He pleaded guilty to robbery and conspiracy in a separate robbery case from October 2019. He was given them same sentence but the judge ruled he could serve both sentences concurrently.

February 2020: He was arrested over a carjacking and charged with robbery, robbery of a motor vehicle, kidnapping for ransom and conspiracy related to an incident in July 2019. The victim was believed to be an Uber drive. This time his bail was set at $100,000. He remained in prison for the majority of 2020.

September 2020: He was charged with assault for attacking a prison guard or inmate.

October 2020: During his assault hearing, his bail was reduced from $200,000 to $12,000. He only had to post $1,200 to get out.

December 2020: His bail in the carjacking was then reduced from $100,000 to $20,000. He only had to pay $2,000 to get out. He was able to pay his bond for the carjacking and jail assault cases and was released.

He now stands accused of murdering Loncar, a Temple graduate, as he tried to rob him. 

Loncar was shot dead just before 7pm local time last Wednesday after being approached by the two men, one of them armed, who were caught on video. 

Police said one of the men pointed a gun at Loncar then both reached for his pants pockets before he was shot once in the chest. Surveillance footage captured the deadly encounter.

Loncar was still holding the leash of his dachshund-chihuahua mix dog named Roo when officers found his body.

Later that evening, officers apprehended the driver of a vehicle stopped in connection with a carjacking from the day before.

Four other men fled the vehicle and the captured driver was later identified as Davis, who lives just two streets away from Loncar.

He was charged with murder and related offenses, according to The Inquirer. Police said a second man has been identified in the killing and is considered a person of interest.

Loncar had graduated from Temple in 2019 after majoring in engineering and had been working for a construction management company for about a year.

His mother, Amy Lounsberry,  told the Philadelphia Inquirer 'everything was coming together' for 'a beloved sweet boy just starting his life'. 

Loncar's sister, Jelena Loncar, 27, said of the man who shot her brother, 'You've taken so much from us, you've hurt the neighborhood. It's not just one life.'

'You've ruined hundreds of lives that you don't even know'. 

District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement on Sunday night that his office had opposed the reductions in Davis' bail before the judges but that the sums had been slashed 'over our objections'. 

Anyone with details about the shooting is asked to contact the homicide unit at 215-686-3334 or the police tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477) or email tips@phillypolice.com. 

Milan Loncar, 25, was shot dead last Wednesday night while walking his dog about a block from his home in the Breweryton neighborhood of the city