Identity of suspect in fatal Rostraver shopping center shooting is revealed

A Philadelphia man is charged with homicide and tampering with evidence in a November fatal shooting at a Rostraver shopping complex, according to public docket information unsealed Thursday.

Keven Van Lam, 55, is being held without bail at the Westmoreland County Prison.

Details surrounding the arrest have been kept under wraps for months by the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s office. The docket was unsealed following an order from the Superior Court of Pennsylvania in response to a request from three news outlets. The criminal complaint can remain sealed, according to the order.

The court concluded that the docket related to the criminal case, as well as a second one related to the sealing of it, “do not contain any ‘arrest warrant information’” in their public formats.

Boyke Budiarachman, 49, of Philadelphia, was fatally shot outside the Lowe’s store at the Rostraver Square shopping center on Nov. 5. It took almost two weeks after the shooting for the coroner’s office to release the identity of the victim.

In the immediate aftermath, the district attorney’s office would only say that the shooting was an isolated, targeted attack and that a suspect was in custody. Neither Lam’s identity nor the charges he faces were released publicly by authorities. The arrest papers were filed under seal because the investigation is ongoing.

The docket being sealed was first challenged by the news outlets in Westmoreland County court where Judge Christopher Feliciani ruled against them, prompting the appeal to Pennsylvania Superior Court, according to court filings.

Lam appeared for a preliminary hearing at the Westmoreland County courthouse while the docket was sealed. His attorney declined to comment following that proceeding. The hearing was rescheduled to Monday.