Chong Dan, 50, of Philadelphia.
Philadelphia’s Chong Ling Dan — the convicted 50-year-old murder-for-hire mastermind responsible for the Lansdale drive-by killing two years ago of his ex-girlfriend’s lover Ebony Sequita Pack — sat motionless and emotionless during his life imprisonment sentencing Monday while Pack’s grieving mother Rhonda Pack Terry furiously called him a “monster” and “the worst kind of evil,” according to Carl Hessler of The Mercury.
“You’re a monster. You stalked her, planned her execution. You played God with her life, and you sit there remorseless … You sir are dangerous. You sir are the worst kind of evil. Judgment day is coming, not only in this court but in the eyes of God,” shouted Terry at Dan, who, Hessler reported, simply stared at her the entire time.
Pack, 30, a nurse and mother to a 10-year-old daughter from Feasterville, was killed Nov. 28, 2020, at East Hancock Street and Church Road as she sat in her vehicle at a red light. Prosecutors said Pack was collateral damage in Dan’s revenge plot against ex-girlfriend Jasmine Stokes.
The murder was to punish Stokes for her disrespect, per reports, and to “send a message” for spending $9,000 of Dan’s money after the break-up.
Dan, of the 3000 block of North Lambert Street, was charged in December 2021 with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and other offenses, and had a five-hour preliminary hearing in January before District Judge Ed Levine.
Dan and one of two accomplices, Ricky G. Vance, 54, of Philadelphia, were convicted in September in a jury trial, according to Hessler. Vance was given life in prison last week.
Hessler reported that Dan said nothing before Judge William R Carpenter gave him the mandatory term for first-degree murder.
The other suspected accomplice is alleged gunman Terrence M. Marche, 48, of Valley Forge Circle in King of Prussia, Upper Merion, who is on the run and believed to be missing in Honduras, per reports. An arrest warrant was issued for Marche in Summer 2021.
Prosecutors claimed Dan hired Vance and Marche to kill Pack, who was dating Stokes. Vance was the wheelman of the Cadillac involved in the shooting, police said.
Read more on the sentencing here.
The Incident and Investigation
Police were dispatched to the intersection of East Hancock Street and Church Road for a report of a vehicle accident with shots fired at 9:59 p.m. on Nov. 28, 2020. Upon arrival, police located a Nissan sedan — driven by Pack — which was stopped on a curb at the intersection. Police said the vehicle sustained numerous bullet-strikes to the driver’s side door.
Pack sustained multiple gunshot wounds during the incident, including two gunshot wounds to the chest and one to the leg, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. Pack was transported from the scene via ambulance to Abington-Lansdale Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Following the shooting, a joint investigation was launched by the Lansdale Borough Police Department and the Montgomery County Detective Bureau. Investigators pulled surveillance footage from the nearby North Penn School District Educational Services Building, which showed that as the victim’s vehicle stopped at the intersection, a second vehicle pulled along-side her vehicle and then quickly drove away, according to the criminal complaint.
The victim’s vehicle then slowly rolled through the intersection until it crashed into a light pole, the report states. A total of 10 fired 9mm casings were found at the scene, according to the complaint.
Investigators learned that the victim would travel the same route every evening from her residence in Feasterville to her girlfriend’s house in Lansdale via the Pennsylvania Turnpike. On the evening of the shooting, Pack went through the Bensalem Plaza at 9:27 p.m. and exited the Fort Washington Plaza at 9:42 p.m. Investigators said that at both points, her vehicle was followed by a dark-colored Cadillac with counterfeit paper registration tags — the same vehicle captured on surveillance at the scene of the shooting — and they later determined that the vehicle was owned by Vance, according to the report.
Vance was arraigned in April 2021 on charges of first-degree murder, third-degree murder, possession of a prohibited firearm and related conspiracy offenses in connection with the incident.
Testing on the vehicle showed particles indicative of gunshot residue on the passenger side of the Cadillac, which was consistent with the video of the shooting, the report states.
In the wake of the shooting, investigators spoke with the Stokes, who stated that she began dating the victim in July 2020 and broke up with her ex-boyfriend — identified as Dan — at the same time, the report states. Stokes said Dan referred to the victim as “that dyke,” and was aware of the type of vehicle that the victim drove, according to the report.
Stokes told investigators that since she ended her relationship with Dan, he became abusive and harassing towards her, the report states. At one point, Stokes recalled hearing Dan say either “I’m going to fix her” or “I have something for her” in relation to victim, however the girlfriend did not believe that it was a direct threat toward Pack, according to the report.
Ultimately, Stokes secured a protection from abuse order against Dan, investigators said.
Investigators said that on the evening of the shooting, cellphone tracing showed that Vance, Dan and a third man — identified as Marche — travelled from different directions to an area of East Mount Airy Philadelphia just after 7:50 p.m. The location was determined to be signification due to it being in the area of a residence of Dan’s current girlfriend, according to the report.
According to information from the district attorney’s office, Marche has been identified by investigators as the person responsible for procuring the counterfeit registration tags for Vance. Additionally, cell phone records showed that Vance and Marche were together at a residence in Philadelphia prior to the shooting, and then all cell phone activity stopped, investigators said. The cell activity resumed after the shooting, and they met back up at Vance’s residence in Philadelphia following the shooting, according to the criminal complaint.
Marche then returned to his home in King of Prussia, according to the criminal complaint. Investigators believe he was the trigger man, firing the shots from the passenger seat of the Cadillac, according to the release from the district attorney’s office.
After the announcement of Vance’s arrest, Marche was driven to the Philadelphia International Airport by his fiancé for a flight to Honduras, where he was going to meet with a man believed to be Dan, investigators said. While Marche was in Honduras, he spoke regularly with his fiancé, however all communications ceased abruptly in mid-May 2021, according to the district attorney’s office.
Dan told Marche’s fiancé that Marche had gone missing in Honduras, investigators said.
See also:
Murder Charges Held Against Second Suspect in Shooting Death of Ebony Pack in Lansdale
Third Suspect Charged in Connection with November 2020 Fatal Shooting in Lansdale
Arrest Warrant Issued for Second Man in Connection with Lansdale Homicide
Philadelphia Man Charged with Murder in Connection with Shooting Death of Ebony Pack in Lansdale
Police Renew Calls For Public Assistance In Lansdale Shooting Incident, Reward Of $10,000 Available
Reward Offered For Info Leading To Arrest In Shooting Death Of Ebony Pack In Lansdale
Investigators Provide Update To Fatal Shooting In Lansdale, Renew Calls For Public Assistance
Lansdale Police Chief Addresses Public Concerns Following Weekend Shooting
Lansdale Shooting Victim Identified, Homicide Investigation Launched
Report: Shots Fired Into Vehicle, At Least One Wounded In Lansdale
