PHILADELPHIA (November 10, 2026) — District Attorney Larry Krasner and the DAO’s Homicide and Non-Fatal Shootings Unit today announced the first-degree murder conviction of defendant Tariq Cummings in the 2024 fatal shooting of singer-songwriter Jerelle Bey.
On October 21, 2026, the Honorable Roxanne Covington found Tariq Cummings (DOB 02/03/1991) guilty of First-Degree Murder and related charges. The defendant was sentenced to life without parole.
On November 23, 2024, at approximately 3:31 a.m., Philadelphia Police Officers responded to the area of 5617 Whitby Avenue after receiving a radio call for a Black male shot at that location. Upon arrival, those officers located the decedent, 32-year-old Jerelle Bey, who was suffering from one gunshot wound to his back. Mr. Bey was transported to Presbyterian Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3:55 a.m.
Additional officers arrived on scene. While securing the scene, a civilian was located who had called 911 to report the shooting. That individual was able to provide flash information that an older model Pontiac, burgundy in color, left the scene immediately after the gunshots. While on scene, officers located a pill bottle in the vicinity of where Mr. Bey was located as well as a fired cartridge casing on the steps of 5617 Whitby Avenue.
Crime Scene Unit Officers processed the scene and recovered that pill bottle. The pill bottle was in the name of the defendant, Tariq Cummings, and had a listed address of 5617 Whitby Avenue.
The assigned detectives conducted searches via Philadelphia Police databases and were able to determine that the defendant did have a last known address of 5617 Whitby Avenue. They were also able to determine that the defendant was the owner of a 2008 burgundy Pontiac G6 and that he had been previously stopped by police while operating that vehicle on two separate occasions within the last year. Despite countless attempts to locate the vehicle, that Pontiac G6 was never recovered.
There was a lack of video in the case, specifically, there was no video of the shooting incident itself. Based on the investigation at that point, homicide detectives then executed search warrants in an attempt to obtain tower information that led to evidence of the defendant’s phone number in the area of the murder at the time it occurred. A warrant was then obtained for the defendant’s call detail records and evidence came to light that the defendant and the decedent had been communicating via phone calls and text messages in the early hours of November 23, 2024, immediately preceding the shooting. The content of those text messages was obtained by detectives and indicated that the defendant and decedent were planning to meet up with each other at the time that the murder occurred.
Ultimately the defendant was arrested on May 15, 2025. The defendant gave a post-Miranda statement where he denied knowing the decedent and denied ever owning or operating a Pontiac G6 despite there being body worn camera footage of him driving the Pontiac as well as PennDOT records indicating he was the registered owner of a Pontiac G6.
The defendant was prohibited from carrying a firearm due to a prior conviction for robbery in 2017.
“This is another example of the power of modern forensics in solving crimes. Even without video or an eyewitness to the shooting, we were able to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” said District Attorney Larry Krasner. “I would like to thank ADA Katie Wood for her excellent work in securing justice for Mr. Bey’s family.”
“The conviction of Tariq Cummings would not be without the valiant effort of the assigned Homicide detectives, Detective Mullen and Detective Farward, who pursued every available avenue throughout the course of the investigation to obtain justice on behalf of Jerelle Bey and his family,” said Assistant District Attorney Katie Wood.
“The world just doesn’t understand what Tariq Cummings took from us. Jerelle LaShawn Bey, my loving son, was outgoing, loving, and he cared about his family and friends. My son was a superstar,” said Octavis Bey, mother of the decedent. “If you go on YouTube under relle bey, you will see how amazing he was. I know he wasn’t perfect but he was my son and he was perfect in my eyes. He didn’t deserve to be murdered and be left on the streets like he was trash. Nobody does. Justice was served, now my son can sleep in peace and so can I and the rest of our family.”
CONTACT:
Solomon D. Leach, [email protected]
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