Man charged in shooting
Shots fired with stolen gun struck female bystander
POTTSTOWN » Police have arrested a man they say was involved in a shooting last week that left him and another person injured.
Donte Webb, 18, of Norristown, has been charged after police say he fired shots using a stolen gun that left a woman injured last week.
On July 5 at around 8:30 p.m., officers responded to the area of Chestnut Street and North Washington Street for a report of shots fired. Upon arrival, officers located two individuals with gunshot wounds, one of them identified as Webb and another, a female bystander, police said.
Webb had allegedly run from the scene and was later found by ambulance personnel near the area of North Franklin Street and Rowan Alley. Both Webb and the female victim were transported to Reading Hospital for treatment of their injuries, according to court documents.
Investigating detectives were led to the 300 block of Chestnut Street where they located blood drops and splatter. They were then informed that video surveillance had been taken in the area. The video showed a male
coming from a nearby yard and approaching the alley beside a garage. The man then lifted his shirt and removed a dark colored object from his waistband and placed it near a bucket, police said.
When police investigated the area shown in the surveillance footage, they located a black Glock 9x19 handgun behind a white bucket.
Police said the magazine in the gun “was empty and the slide was partially back with a spent 9 mm casing lodged in the chamber, not ejected.”
The gun had been registered to one of Webb’s family members.
Additionally, police said there was a blood trail that led from the side of the residence to just before the garage.
Police also investigated a nearby crime scene where numerous vehicles had been struck with bullets, and shell casings were found throughout the street. Police discovered 11 9 mm casings and two areas of blood evidence. Blood was found on a vehicle parked on the north side of Chestnut Street and a pool of blood was located on the sidewalk on the 400 block of Chestnut Street, according to court documents.
When police returned the next day, they found six .40-caliber shell casings and found that vehicles in the area had been struck by bullets coming from different directions.
On July 6, witnesses told police that at the time of the shooting Webb had been on a porch where he was speaking with two people for a short time. Another man had been standing by the curb and as Webb left the porch, the witness heard shots fired.
That same day police obtained more video surveillance that appears to show Webb returning to the area where the gun was found, police said.
The following day, Webb came to the police station and after speaking with detectives, signed a statement in which he admitted to firing the gun that belonged to one of his family members. Police said Webb admitted to loading the gun with six or seven rounds and firing it until the magazine ran out. He stated that he did not know the individuals who shot at him but that he returned fire and ran into the yard. He then admitted that he handed the gun off to be hidden and that he returned the next day to look for it, according to court documents.
Police said Webb’s criminal history does not permit him to possess a firearm and that he does not have a permit to carry a concealed firearm.
Webb is being charged with aggravated assault, theft, receiving stolen property, firearms not to be carried without a license, possession of a weapon, possession of a firearm prohibited, tampering with evidence and conspiracy.
He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on July 21 before District Judge Edward C. Kropp. He was unable to post the set $1 million bail and is being held at Montgomery County Correctional Facility.