Man admits stealing gun later used in local murder
WEST CHESTER » A young Phoenixville man who reportedly engineered a burglary that yielded three handguns — one of which ended up being the alleged weapon in a fatal shooting in the borough last year — pleaded guilty to criminal charges in Chester County Common Pleas Court Monday.
Judge Ann Marie Wheatcraft deferred sentencing for Jeffrey Forrester Simmons Jr. until a pre-sentence investigation is completed at the request of his attorney, Alex Silow of West Chester. Silow told Wheatcraft that his client had taken steps while being held in Chester County Prison to improve himself, including enrolling in GED classes, and that he would raise those steps at sentencing.
Wheatcraft warned Simmons,
who was tearful and in seeming distress during the brief plea proceeding, that he was facing the possibility of a state prison sentence given the serious nature of the burglary.
“Would you still like to plead guilty?” she asked. “Yes, ma’am,” Simmons said in a hushed whisper.
According to the facts of the case as laid out by Assistant District Attorney Robert Jefferson IV, Simmons and two other men — Justin Drupp and Keyon LaShawn Carpenter — broke into an apartment in the 200 block of High Street in Phoenixville on Sept. 26, looking for handguns that Simmons believed were there.
Inside, they found a black backpack with three weapons — a 9 mm Remington, a .38 caliber Ruger, and a .40 caliber Taurus. Phoenixville police recovered the Taurus handgun two days later when it was found at the scene of a fatal shooting on Bridge Street. Carpenter, 21, of Phoenixville, was later arrested and charged with that homicide.
The case against Simmons does not involve the homicide, except tangentially.
Instead, police were able to track down evidence of who committed the burglary after Drupp’s mother contacted them and told them her son had confessed to her that he had been involved
in the burglary, and that one of the guns they stole was used in the homicide. She said her son told her that Simmons had been involved.
Police had gone to the apartment where Simmons was living with his father, Jeffrey Simmons Sr., while looking for Carpenter. Outside, they found a black backpack that was later identified by the owner of the handguns as the one in which he kept the guns before the burglary, according to the criminal complaint filed against Simmons by Phoenixville Detective Nick Natale.
When police arrested Drupp on Oct. 6, he allegedly told them that Simmons planned the burglary and that he had fled the area to avoid arrest after the homicide.
A confidential informant then told borough Detective Thomas Hyland that Simmons Sr. was trying to sell stolen handguns. Acting undercover, Hyland arranged to meet Simmons Sr. and another man to purchase the guns. The men were arrested, and a later search of their apartment yielded further evidence tying them to the handgun burglary, including an owners manual for a .40 caliber Taurus.
Simmons Jr. pleaded guilty to charges of burglary and criminal conspiracy. His father is still awaiting trial on handgun charges. Drupp pleaded guilty to burglary charges earlier this year and is awaiting sentencing.
Carpenter is charged with criminal homicide, third-degree murder, recklessly endangering another person, possession of a weapon, possession of a firearm prohibited, firearms not to be carried without a license, altering or obliterating a mark of identification and receiving stolen property. He is being held at Chester County Prison without bail.
The charges stem from an incident on Sept. 28 when police say a shooting was reported at around 9:45 p.m. on the 200 block of Bridge Street, known as Children’s Plaza. Police believe Carpenter and 20-year-old Joshua Mitchell had been arguing when Carpenter allegedly pulled out a handgun and fired one shot at Mitchell and witnesses. Mitchell attempted to run away and Carpenter reportedly chased after him. After a short chase, Carpenter shot Mitchell in the upper body, police allege.
Mitchell was rushed to Phoenixville Hospital, where he later died.
Witnesses told police that Carpenter ran from the scene of the shooting. Police recovered the firearm from the area where the suspect ran. Carpenter was later arrested in Philadelphia with the assistance of Philadelphia Police and a U.S. Marshal team without incident.