Richard Scutt had a good heart and touched a lot of souls in short period of time. The thing is, that can be said about a lot of people, but how many reach into the hearts of people that others ignore on a day to day basis—like the mail carrier?
One day Richard noticed the woman delivering the mail every day was having trouble walking. She had recently had surgery on her leg, so Richard offered to carry the bag for it. Since that was forbidden, he walked with her anyway and they developed a friendship.
After Richard was killed, the woman came up to his mother’s house to offer her condolences. It was nighttime, and she made a special trip on her off hours out of uniform to tell his mom about his impact on her life.
“When I came to meet her, she was more broken down than I was,” said Richard’s mother, Maria Jackson. “Literally, she was in tears. All I could do was hug her.”
That was type of guy Richard was, always giving, always willing to help a friend, even the unlikely ones. He could never say no to friends.
He was 31 years old when he was shot dead on Lambert Street near Chelten Avenue on Oct 2, 2024. The alleged shooter was arrested, and police are building a case against another suspect, so they are looking for information to help seal the case (see below for reward and contact information).
Growing up in West Oak Lane as the oldest of four kids on his mom’s side alone, Richard was part of a big family. Since he had lots of aunts and uncles too, he had a “big fan base in his nephews and nieces,” his mom said.
He graduated from Martin Luther King Jr High School and excelled on the varsity basketball team for a couple years. The love of playing translated into a love of sports, and he’d talk trash with his uncle while they watched the Eagles, Maria said, describing Richard as a “ride or die fan.”
He later went into construction and did some housekeeping, some seasonal work at an Amazon warehouse and “a little bit of everything,” said his mom. He was about a week from starting a full time position back at Amazon when the shooting happened.
Richard was kind hearted, but his friends lovingly teased him by calling him Mugga, because he always had a serious look on his mug, er, face. Nevertheless, he was loved by a lot of people in the neighborhood, and every body knew him even though he was a bit of a homebody who tended to keep to himself.
The way he lit up, though, was by spending Tim with his son, Ha’leem, who is now 4. He’d pick him up and take him to school in the morning. Later, they would watch TV together or ride together on his scooter.
“Now one of his blankets with Peppa Pig is still on his dad’s bed,” said Maria, who has adopted Ha’leem.
Small activates, and small things, kept Richard happy. He could get a pair socks as a gift and be thrilled.
Unfortunately, the boy has started to notice the void of his missing father and has been acting out, Maria said.
“He’s starting to go into withdrawal because his father was part of his life. He’d see him every day, now he doesn’t see him every day,” she said. “How do you explain to a 4-year-old what transpired?”
Before he was killed, Richard had recently lost his best friend to gun violence, so he was struggling. But as time progressed, he was trying to better himself so he could be there for his son. That’s why he was going back to Amazon to start the full time job.
“He knew he had a son to be a role model for,” Maria said.
Resources are available for people and communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Click here for more information.
A reward of up to $20,000 if available to anyone that comes forward with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for this murder. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling the Citizens Crime Commission at 215-546-TIPS or by CLICKING HERE TO FILL OUT this form.
