2 Philadelphia Men Tried to Rob, Shoot Undercover Cop, Police Say

Two Philadelphia men are behind bars after allegedly attempting to rob and shoot an undercover Bensalem narcotics officer. 

Tariq Moore, 29, of the 4700 block of Sansom Street was arrested on Tuesday and charged with solicitation to commit murder, conspiracy to commit robbery with a firearm, drug delivery and related offenses. 

David McCoy, 25, of the 6500 block of North Woodstock Street was arrested on Tuesday and charged with conspiracy to commit robbery with a firearm, drug delivery, possession of a stolen firearm and related charges.

Members of the Bensalem special investigations and criminal investigations unit were conducting a buy/bust operation in the area of 2300 block of Old Lincoln Highway on Tuesday at about 5:45 p.m., according to police. 

An undercover Bensalem officer was attempting to purchase 300 Oxycodone pills with a street value between $7,000 and $9,000, police said.  

When Moore and McCoy arrived for the alleged drug transaction, police said the vehicle they were in had the registration plate partially covered with duct tape to avoid detection. The undercover officer opened the door of the vehicle and observed someone hiding under a blanket in the rear seat, according to Bensalem Police.  

The officer immediately exited the vehicle for fear he was going to be robbed, police said.   

Both Moore and the officer exited the vehicle where the alleged drug transaction took place. Moore only gave the officer about half of the drugs, according to police. 

Police said Moore began to get argumentative with the officer and turned toward the vehicle and could be heard saying to the man in the vehicle “klack em," which, according to police, is a common term used by gang members, meaning to “shoot him.”  

Police said the officer saw a man, later identified as McCoy, climb out of the middle seat area of the vehicle and into the back trunk. Moore handed the officer the bags containing several different types of pills, according to police. The officer then handed Moore the rest of the money, according to police. 

Moore turned back toward his vehicle and again said "Klack em," according to police. The officer identified himself as a police officer. 

Moore turned and ran back to the vehicle, entered it and attempted to flee while back up officers arrived, according to police. 

A detective sergeant and a detective from the criminal investigations division, who were riding in the same vehicle, approached the rear of Moore's vehicle, police said. Moore backed up, striking the police vehicle and continued to accelerate while spinning the vehicle's tires in an attempt to flee, according to police.   

Assisting officers converged and were able to block the vehicle from fleeing, police said. Both men were ordered to exit the vehicle, however McCoy was seen jumping back and forth between the rear passenger compartment and the rear trunk compartment, according to police. Moore and McCoy were taken out of the vehicle and detained.  

Police searched the men's vehicle and found duct tape, rope, and a loaded black .40 caliber handgun, according to police. The gun, which was reported stolen during a burglary in Philadelphia in September, had 10 rounds of ammunition in the magazine, police said. 

Police said Moore and McCoy admitted that they planned to "rip off/rob" the person who wanted to buy pills. The original plan was to sell fake pills. But, if the sale didn't take place, McCoy was supposed to jump out from underneath the blanket and rob him, police said. 

The undercover officer was not injured. However the detective sergeant and the other detective suffered minor injuries. They were treated and released from the hospital. Both are expected to return to full duty in a few days, police said. 

McCoy and Moore were video arraigned by a district judge. Moore was sent to Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of 10 percent of $1 million bail, while McCoy was sent in lieu of 10 percent of $750,000 bail.