Reading man shot in argument over SUV blocking street, police say
May 20—A Reading man faces attempted homicide charges after city police said he shot a man at close range over the weekend after the victim requested he move his large-sized SUV that was blocking a one-way southeast neighborhood street.
Damion O. Cheung, 38, is wanted on attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault, possessing an instrument of crime and related charges in the shooting about 11:45 p.m. Friday in the 1200 block of Muhlenberg Street.
The victim suffered a single gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was unable to speak to emergency responders before being taken by ambulance to Reading Hospital, police said. Information on his medical condition could not be obtained from the hospital.
Investigators said they identified Cheung as the shooter based on the descriptions provided by three witnesses, two of whom were standing next to the victim along the driver's side of the suspect's SUV when he was shot from about 5 feet away.
The SUV that the suspect drove from the scene is registered to a woman with whom Cheung has a relationship, Investigators said. They located pictures of Cheung in the woman's social media contacts that matched the shooter's physical description and tattoos.
Investigators provide this account of the shooting:
Witnesses said they were sitting in front of their home in the block when they noticed the SUV parked in the single-lane, one-way street.
The victim asked the driver, later identified as Cheung, to move the vehicle, saying it was blocking the street and other motorists were trying to get by. An argument ensued.
Cheung became irate, got out of the vehicle, shot the victim, then returned to the SUV and drove off.
Witnesses said they had seen the suspect several times because he was in a relationship with a woman who lives in the block. They described him as a tall, heavy-set Black man with short, braided hair and tattooed arms.
One of the witnesses reported the suspect was in the block earlier in the evening during a dispute for which police were called. It wasn't clear if the dispute involved the shooting victim.
Police reviewed video footage recorded by body-worn cameras of the officers who responded to the earlier dispute. They saw a man matching that description at the scene of that dispute.
Investigators reviewed security camera footage from the block and saw that the suspect was driving an early 2000s tan or cream GMC Yukon. Through the city's license-plate recognition system, they learned the license plate of the SUV and found the vehicle was registered to the woman in the 1200 block of Muhlenberg who is associated with Cheung.
Anyone who knows Cheung's whereabouts is asked to call Reading police at 610-655-6116, or Crime Alert Berks County's anonymous tip line, 877-373-9913. Tips can also be sent via text, using the keyword "alert berks," to 847411. Crime Alert will pay a cash reward for information leading to an arrest.
