A member of a local motorcycle club is in jail after police say he shot his girlfriend in the head.
Michael DeLuca, 31, a member of the Warlocks motorcycle club, called police around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday night. When police arrived at his home on West Chester Pike in Upper Darby, they found his 19-year-old girlfriend suffering from a bullet wound to the head. Police say a bullet entered her ear and exited through her eyebrow. She was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where she remains in stable but extremely critical condition.
When DeLuca called 911, he allegedly claimed he was cleaning his gun when it accidentally fired and struck his girlfriend. When police arrived however, they say he told them a different story.
DeLuca allegedly told the officers he was tattooing himself and smoking marijuana with his girlfriend to come down after smoking meth earlier. Police say DeLuca then claimed he felt a gun on his back, pulled out his own gun and accidentally shot his girlfriend in the head.
Police say they don't believe DeLuca's story however and suspect that the shooting was domestic. They also say witnesses claimed they heard DeLuca cursing at his girlfriend before he shot her. According to Philly.com, one neighbor heard DeLuca say, “Get up, you know I love you,’ moments after shooting her.
During the shooting, police say the girl’s three-year-old son was inside an apartment below with a neighbor.
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Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood told Philly.com that DeLuca has been arrested several times over the years for robbery, assault and other offenses. He also says DeLuca has been on the radar of law enforcement due to his involvement with the Warlocks. Police told Philly.com that DeLuca did not own the gun used in the shooting. They also say however that the gun’s owner did not report it stolen.
DeLuca was arrested and charged with attempted criminal homicide. He’s currently in jail on $2.5 million bail.
