Police: Pottstown K-9 helped track shooting suspects
NORRISTOWN >> When three men accused of taking part in the shooting and wounding of another man in Norristown fled on foot from a Chevrolet Impala, investigators called upon a Pottstown police K-9 unit to track the suspects, according to trial testimony.
Pottstown Police Officer Jeffrey Portock testified in Montgomery County Court on Tuesday that he and K-9 Taz responded to the 800 block of Cherry Street in Norristown shortly after shots rang out in the late evening hours of Aug. 8, 2017.
“He’s really trained in human scent,” Portock told a jury, referring to Taz. “I had him sniff the vehicle to try to get a scent of people who may have been inside the vehicle. At that point, I gave him a command to start tracking.”
Taz led Portock to an area of a downed tree and porch at the rear of a home in the 800 block of Swede Street, according to testimony.
“He was deepest in the track. He pulled me underneath the tree and went underneath a side porch. He was pulling hard. We were able to locate two subjects under the porch,” said Portock, adding he immediately called for police backup.
At that time, police took Jamal Achilles Jones, 20, of Kingsessing Avenue, Philadelphia, and Taron Malik Ebo-Wilson, 21, of the 1000 block of Elbridge Street, Philadelphia, into custody.
A third man, Jahleel C. Davis, 19, of the 300 block of Spruce Street, Pottstown, was subsequently found by other officers hiding behind a residence in the 800 block of Cherry Street.
“I checked behind an air conditioning unit and found Mr. Davis hiding behind that air conditioning unit,” Norristown Police Officer Brian Graham testified on Tuesday.
Graham said underneath Davis he found a black Adidas sweatshirt, which prosecutors contend matched one described by witnesses as being worn by one of the men seen fleeing the shooting scene. Graham testified he also found what he described as a half-mask in close proximity to Davis.
Prosecution witnesses also testified that forensic analysis determined the Adidas sweatshirt found with Davis tested positive for the presence of gunshot residue.
Davis and Jones are on trial on charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault and possessing instruments of crime in connection with the 11:30 p.m. Aug. 8, 2017, shooting of 26-year-old Kendal Rosendary in the 800 block of Cherry Street in Norristown.
Rosendary, of Philadelphia, survived the attack but was shot about 15 times and was treated for life-threatening injuries, according to testimony. Rosendary testified he spent months in a hospital, underwent multiple surgeries and is still recovering from his injuries.
“There was blood pooling from his body. It appeared he suffered multiple gunshots to his upper body and torso,” Graham, one of the first officers to respond to the area, testified.
The jury trial before Judge Richard P. Haaz is expected to last several days.
Ebo-Wilson previously pleaded guilty to charges of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with his role in the shooting and was sentenced under a plea agreement to 8-to-20-years in prison and 20 years’ probation, for a total of 40 years of supervision.
During the trial, Assistant District Attorney Kristen J. Kemp suggested the shooting is tied to a violent “feud” between individuals from Pottstown, who some-
times refer to themselves as “ATM or BGB,” and individuals from Norristown – the same feud previously linked to the July 6, 2017, gunshot slaying in Norristown of Jordan Scott, 16, of Pottstown.
Kemp suggested Davis was friends with Scott and he was angry about what happened to Scott and went to Norristown on Aug. 8 with Jones and EboWilson with multiple guns to
retaliate.
Rosendary testified he didn’t know Scott nor the men accused of shooting him. It’s unclear why Davis, Jones and Ebo-Wilson allegedly specifically targeted Rosendary or if they mistook him for someone else.
Two other men, Isaiah “Zay” Freeman, then 18, and William Durell Wilson, 32, both of Norristown, previously were convicted of taking part in Scott’s murder and are serving state prison terms.
Defense lawyers Christopher Koschier, who represents Davis, and Francis Genovese,
who represents Jones, argued prosecutors do not have sufficient evidence to support the accusations and that there is enough reasonable doubt to acquit the men of charges in connection with Rosendary’s shooting.
Koschier suggested the men acted in self-defense and acted with legal justification.
When he testified on Monday, Rosendary denied having a gun, said he didn’t confront the defendants before the shots rang out and was at a loss as to why he was targeted. Police testified on Tuesday there was no gun or ammunition found
on Rosendary as he lay bleeding on the sidewalk.
Genovese argued to the jury that the evidence presented by investigators will fall “woefully short” and won’t support Kemp’s claim of a conspiracy and intent to kill. Genovese suggested the evidence “will support the inference that my client (Jones) was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when shots rang out.”
The investigation into the alleged roles of Davis, Jones and Ebo-Wilson in Rosendary’s shooting began when Norristown police received a 911 call at 11:07 p.m. Aug. 8 regarding
two groups of males causing a disturbance in the street and threatening to fight.
A short time later, Norristown police heard gunshots in the area of the 700 block of Cherry Street and one officer even observed a projectile passing through trees and above his head. Detectives subsequently recovered 21 fired 9 mm, .40-caliber and .45-caliber shell casings in the area.
Immediately after gunfire erupted, a gray Chevrolet Impala pulled out into the 800 block of Cherry Street and began traveling north toward West Elm Street. Police used a
patrol vehicle to block the car’s path and Davis, Jones and EboWilson jumped out and fled on foot, ignoring officers’ commands to stop, according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective Gregory Henry and Norristown Detective David Mazza.
Police checked the vehicle and recovered a black revolver in the back seat and a Glock pistol magazine in the passenger’s side door compartment.
Police found a .40-caliber Glock handgun on the ground near Ebo-Wilson when he and Jones were found hiding under the porch.