Authorities seek life in fatal shooting
NORRISTOWN » Prosecutors informed a judge they will use a socalled “three strike” law to seek “a life sentence without parole” for a Norristown man who supplied the gun to and was the getaway driver for another man during the gunshot slaying of a 16-year-old Pottstown boy.
William Durell Wilson, 31, according to Montgomery County prosecutors, has previous convictions for rape and robbery that make him eligible under Pennsylvania’s Three Strike Law for a life prison term for his April conviction of third-degree murder in connection with the 6:30 p.m. July 6, 2017, gunshot slaying of Jordan Scott, and the assault and wounding of a second teenager, Taye Wynder, who had
been walking with Scott, at Chain Street and Blackberry Alley in Norristown.
“The defendant has been incarcerated for most of his adult life for a series of very serious and violent crimes. Every time the defendant is released from prison he commits new violent crimes or violates his supervision in some other manner within a short period of time,” Deputy District Attorney Samantha Cauffman wrote in court papers.
The moment Wilson is released from custody “he presents a very real danger to the public,” Cauffman and co-prosecutor Roderick Fancher argued.
For example, according to court documents, in October 2002, Wilson, then 16, was charged as an adult with taking part
in the gang rape of an underage girl. While the rape case was pending, Wilson was charged with committing a robbery in March 2003, according to court documents. Wilson later was convicted of both the rape and robbery charges and was sentenced to 5 ½ to 11 years in prison, court records indicate.
Wilson, prosecutors alleged, was out of prison only 189 days for the 2002 and 2003 crimes when he was charged with robbery again in September 2011, a charge of which he was later convicted.
Prosecutors argued Wilson’s most recent conviction of murder and aggravated assault represent five violent offenses in his lifetime.
After Wilson’s murder conviction in April, prosecutors hinted they “may seek life imprisonment” but after reviewing Wilson’s criminal record they now told the judge they are “in
fact seeking a life sentence without parole” for Wilson.
That decision resulted in Wilson’s sentencing hearing being postponed on Tuesday in order to give Wilson’s new defense lawyer, James Tone, additional time to review the matter.
Wilson is now expected to be sentenced by Judge Thomas C. Branca for the murder sometime in October.
After a trial in April, a jury convicted Wilson of charges of third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit third-degree murder, aggravated assault, possessing an instrument of crime and unsworn falsification to law enforcement authorities in connection with Scott’s gunshot slaying. The jury acquitted Wilson of a more serious first-degree murder charge.
With the conviction, jurors found that Wilson provided the handgun to Isaiah “Zay” Freeman, who was the triggerman. Freeman
was convicted of firstdegree murder, an intentional killing, and is serving a life prison sentence.
Wilson faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison on the third-degree murder charge. But prosecutors argued Wilson is deserving of a life sentence under the “three strikes law.”
“The defendant’s prior history, escalation of violence and seriousness of present conviction make it clear that twenty-five years of imprisonment is insufficient to keep the people of this commonwealth safe. The commonwealth therefore seeks a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole,” Cauffman and Fancher wrote in court papers.
During the trial, Cauffman described Wilson as “the over confident general with an arsenal” and Freeman as the “battle-hardened soldier full of anger
and aggression,” two players who came together “in a mission of violence and murder.”
Hinting at a motive for the killing Cauffman and Fancher claimed Wilson and Freeman were a part of the same group of friends from Norristown that were feuding with Scott and others associated from Pottstown over several days leading up to July 6, 2017.
During the trial, Bryce Byrd, 19, testified for prosecutors that he was in the backseat of Wilson’s 2013 Dodge Challenger when Wilson parked his car in the area of Blackberry and Jamison alleys and gave Freeman a handgun. Byrd said Freeman, the front seat passenger, was “hyped” and that Wilson “egged him on.” Byrd testified he watched as Freeman exited the vehicle, walked to the corner of Blackberry Alley and Chain Street and fired several gunshots.
Freeman then ran back to Wilson’s waiting vehicle and allegedly stated, “I got him, I got him, I hit him,” and “I shot him all in here” while pointing to his chest, according to testimony and witness accounts contained in the arrest affidavit.
Wilson then drove Freeman away from the scene.
Scott, who once lived in the 500 block of High Street in Norristown’s East End but at the time of the shooting was living in Pottstown, was pronounced dead at 7:28 p.m. at a local hospital.
An autopsy determined Scott died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds and two projectiles were removed from the teenager’s body, according to court documents.
Wynder, who had been walking with Scott at the time of the shooting, suffered a gunshot wound to the right ankle and was treated for his wound at Paoli Hospital.