Lansdowne man won’t face death penalty at trial
“It was decided that we will not be pursuing the death penalty. That decision was made in the weighing of the aggravating versus the mitigating factors. That’s how we make that decision, traditionally.”
— County Deputy District Attorney Kelly S. Lloyd
NORRISTOWN » A Delaware County man won’t face the death penalty if he’s convicted of charges he intentionally killed another man during an altercation and shooting on New Year’s Eve in Norristown.
Based on the legal standards and the factors they can consider under the law, Montgomery County prosecutors explained they will not seek a death sentence if Nyjeah Jerome White, 28, of the 300 block of Windermere Avenue, Lansdowne, is convicted of first-degree murder, which is an intentional killing, in connection with the alleged Dec. 31, 2020, fatal shooting of Rasheed Bundy in the 1200 block of Markley Street.
“It was decided that we will not be pursuing the death penalty,” county Deputy District Attorney Kelly S. Lloyd said after the arraignment hearing. “That decision was made in the weighing of the aggravating versus the mitigating factors. That’s how we make that decision, traditionally.”
In order to obtain a death penalty, prosecutors must show that aggravating factors – circumstances that make a killing more heinous – outweigh any mitigating factors – circumstances that favor a defendant. Specifically, prosecutors have about 18 aggravating factors, under state law, which they can use to seek the death penalty.
It is during a formal arraignment hearing that prosecutors must inform a judge if they plan to seek the death penalty.
White, appearing at the arraignment hearing via a videoconferencing link from the county jail where he is being held without bail, waived a formal reading of the charges lodged against him and entered not guilty pleas before county Judge Thomas C. Branca. Lloyd, First Assistant District Attorney Edward F. McCann Jr. and defense lawyer Michael Quinn were present in the courtroom with the judge at the county courthouse.
With the death penalty off the table, White will face life imprisonment if he’s convicted of the firstdegree murder charge during a trial.
White also faces charges of third-degree murder, person not to possess a firearm and possessing an instrument of crime in connection with the alleged fatal shooting.
A conviction of thirddegree murder, a killing committed with malice, carries a possible maximum sentence of 20-to40-years in prison.
Branca scheduled White’s trial to begin April 4, 2022. The trial is slated to last about five days.
White had been on the lam for more than two months after the alleged fatal shooting but was apprehended by the U.S. Marshals Service without incident on March 19 in the Germantown section of Philadelphia.
The investigation began about 9:42 p.m. Dec. 31 when Norristown police responded to a residence in the 1200 block of Markley Street for a reported shooting and found Bundy, 36, dead from an apparent gunshot wound to the head in the alley between neighboring homes, according to a criminal complaint filed by county Detective Michael Crescitelli and Norristown Detective Angela Anderson.
A subsequent autopsy determined Bundy died from multiple gunshot wounds and the manner of death was ruled homicide. During the autopsy, pathologists recovered two fired projectiles from Bundy’s body, according to the criminal complaint.
Arriving officers said several people at the scene were overheard saying that “Ny” shot Bundy. The investigation determined that White was the former boyfriend of the victim’s sister and had been visiting a residence in the area shortly before the shooting.
Witnesses told detectives that Bundy left a Markley Street residence where he was attending a party, saying that he was going outside to “have words with Ny,” according to the criminal complaint. Within minutes, witnesses reported hearing gunshots, according to court documents.
Witnesses told detectives they observed White’s blue sedan driving away from the scene and detectives recovered video surveillance camera footage in the area that depicted the vehicle leaving the scene immediately after the alleged shooting, according to court documents.
With the charges, authorities alleged White has a prior felony conviction and therefore is prohibited from possessing a firearm.