Man, 20, Charged with Murder for ‘Robbing and Shooting Dead 25-Year-Old Temple University Graduate’

A 20-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Temple University graduate Milan Loncar, who was robbed and shot dead while walking his dog in Philadelphia.

Josephus Davis was arrested during a traffic stop in Kensington, Philadelphia, on Wednesday, wearing clothing that matched the description of one of the suspects, Fox 29 reports.

Loncar, 25, 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.

Surveillance video showed the moment two men approached Milan, reached for his pockets and then fatally shot him in the chest in what police believe was a robbery attempt.

On Saturday evening, CBS3 Philadelphia reporter Joe Holden tweeted that two people had been taken into custody. The second person has not been identified.

As of Sunday, the family raised more than $53,000 on GoFundMe offering a reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest of the suspects.

Loncar’s mother told WPVI-TV that she was ‘shaking’ when she heard the news that the two men were detained.

It comes after his girlfriend called him her ‘soulmate’ as she broke down in tears during his vigil Friday night.

On Friday night, family and friends gathered at the site where he was killed, illuminating a portrait of him with the light of their cellphones, while also playing music and singing for him.

‘He was my soulmate, and I don’t think I have a plan anymore without him,’ Milan’s girlfriend, Olivia Gorski, said at his vigil, fighting tears while being comforted by Milan’s mother, Amy Lounsberry.

Gorski had been planning to move in with Milan next month.

While speaking with 6ABC, Lounsberry, said of her son and Gorski, ‘We might’ve had a wedding.’

‘There would have been a wedding,’ Gorski replied, definitively.

Milan’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,’ Gorski added.

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

Lounsberry told the Philadelphia Inquirer ‘everything was coming together’ for ‘a beloved sweet boy just starting his life’.

Police released the surveillance video from Wednesday night’s incident in attempt to help identify the suspects.

The video shows two suspects walking down the sidewalk then splitting up to corral Milan as they approach him, stopping him in his tracks.

One of the suspects can be seen pulling out what appears to be a gun and holding it at chest level to stop Milan. The suspect then seems to reach for Milan’s pockets.

Police said that a shot was then fired and that the suspects ran from the scene.

Lounsberry has shared a series of heartbreaking posts and spoken about his life in interviews with local news outlets.

‘He is so missed and we are trying to pull together and get everybody through,’ she told 6 ABC. ‘He was going to move in with his girlfriend in March, he had graduated and had his first job and was just starting out.

‘I don’t know why they did it, I can’t understand. They didn’t get any money, did they need it so badly, were they trying to show off?

‘I was so proud of him and everybody that he worked with, everybody he knew, they all said how he was doing so well. Everybody loved him.’

Lounsberry wrote on Facebook on Friday: ‘I want to stand tonight where my son fell and I’m hoping some of you will stand with me in remembrance. I will be at 31st and Jefferson between 6:56, the time of the shots fired radio call, to 730 when he was declared dead.’

She then thanked people for attending, writing: ‘Thank you all for coming tonight, it was so nice to have all of your support. I know we’re all shocked and hurting but we were together tonight.’

Police said that Milan used his cell phone to call for help after he was shot and was found in the street injured, while still holding the dog’s leash, CBS Philadelphia reported.

Milan was declared dead at the hospital at about 7.30pm.

Police believe that Milan was killed in the midst of an attempted robbery.

Family members told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Milan’s house keys and cell phone were found at the scene. He didn’t have his wallet on him – he’d left it at home.

Milan’s sister Jelena Loncar, 27, lives near her brother. She said she first learned about the shooting through an alert on the Citizen App as she was driving home from dinner with her mother.

At the time, she wasn’t aware of who had been shot.

She said that she called Milan, who didn’t answer his phone, leading her to fear the worst, she told CBS Philadelphia.

Jelena’s roommate, Arshiya Luthra, 26, then went to the scene, described Milan and then realized he had been the person who had been shot when police brought her Milan’s dog, Luthra told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Jelena described her brother as being ‘the kindest person in the entire world’ and that he was ‘selfless, constantly smiling.’

His uncle, Nikola Loncar, 66, told the newspaper that Milan ‘was very polite. I don’t think he would ever fight anybody.’

Police released surveillance footage showing multiple angles of the suspects approaching and stopping Milan. Surveillance footage also showed the suspects as they ran away.

Police are asking for the public’s help in providing details about the incident, which they are calling an apparent robbery.

[Editor’s Note: See this story for more on Josephus Davis, a serial criminal who was released on bail two weeks before allegedly killing Milan Loncar.]