LANCASTER, Pa.– A man was charged Tuesday in the September 2015 shooting death of 21-year-old Rahdir Maxton in Lancaster city.
Victor Tirado, 51, formerly of Lancaster, is charged with criminal homicide.
Maxton was gunned down along the 200 block of East Fulton Street on September 9, 2015.
Investigators found three cellphones in Maxton’s possession when he died. A forensic analysis uncovered three calls were placed to Maxton from a number listed under the name ‘Vic,’ according to the criminal complaint. On the night Maxton was killed, he was with his girlfriend at an apartment along East Fulton Street. Police interviewed Maxton’s girlfriend who said he received three calls before he put on his jacket and went outside to meet a man named ‘Vic,’ according to court documents.
Surveillance cameras showed Maxton outside the apartment building, and meeting with a single individual. On the video, police said the individual can be seen firing a gun before fleeing.
A break in the case came after police confiscated a letter from an inmate at Lancaster County Prison in September 2015. According to court documents, the letter revealed information that Victor Tirado had the same contact information that was discovered in Maxton’s phone on the night he was killed.
In June 2016, police interviewed a man who said he was with Tirado on the night Maxton was shot. The man told police he overheard Tirado speaking with Maxton to set up a drug deal, according to court documents. The men drove to the 200 block of East Fulton Street, where the man said Tirado exited the SUV to meet with Maxton. A short time later, Tirado returned to the vehicle and explained he had just shot Maxton in the head, court documents state.
Police say Tirado is currently in state prison on unrelated charges and will be arraigned on the homicide charge at a later date.
