Retrial date set for pair accused in trail slaying

Jury was deadlocked at 1st trial in fatal shooting of Lower Providence man

Weeks after a jury was deadlocked at their homicide trial, two men learned they’ll face a retrial in June for their alleged roles in the gunshot slaying of a Lower Providence man on the Schuylkill River Trail in West Norriton.

Jury selection for Cody Kavon Reed and Marquise Alexander Johnson will begin in Montgomery County Court on June 3, according to an order issued by Judge William R. Carpenter.

“The trial date has been selected after a conference with counsel and selected to accommodate the availability of counsel and witnesses. There shall be no continuance,” Carpenter wrote in the order. “Attorneys are directed to properly notify any necessary witnesses and to have them available to testify when needed.”

Reed, 24, of the 300 block of West Marshall Street, Norristown, and Johnson, 24, of the 500 block of East Johnson Street, Philadelphia, face charges of first-, second-, and third-degree murder, robbery, conspiracy to commit murder and robbery, weapons offenses and flight to avoid apprehension in connection with the alleged 9 p.m. March 2, 2023, robbery and gunshot slaying of former Reading resident Daquan Tucker, 25, who resided along Rogers Road in Lower Providence at the time of his death.

Reed and Johnson remain in the county jail without bail pending the retrial.

After hearing testimony over four days at a trial last month, and deliberating eight hours over two days, a jury of seven women and five men notified the judge that it was “hung and no further deliberations will help.” The jurors did

not reveal the exact split.

Carpenter declared a mistrial and prosecutors vowed to retry Reed and Johnson.

Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Alane McLaughlin and co-prosecutor Caitlin Faith O’Malley are handling the case.

Defense lawyer Brendan Michael Campbell represents Reed and defense lawyer Dennis Caglia represents Johnson.

A conviction of first-degree murder, an intentional killing, or second-degree murder, a killing that occurs during the course of another felony such as robbery, carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. A conviction of third-degree murder, a killing committed with malice, carries a possible maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.

During last month’s trial, McLaughlin and O’Malley argued Reed and Johnson had a plan to take Tucker to the popular recreational trail to “execute” him.

Even though there were no eyewitnesses to the killing and no gun was found and no one knows who fired the fatal shots, prosecutors argued circumstantial evidence pointed to Reed and Johnson as the killers. Reed and Johnson were charged with homicide under accomplice liability theories.

Prosecutors argued Tucker was robbed of his wallet and cellphone during the fatal encounter.

But Campbell argued that while all three men were hanging out together at some point that night there is no DNA, fingerprint or gun evidence to link Reed to Tucker’s death.

Caglia argued prosecutors didn’t have sufficient evidence that any agreement existed between Johnson and Reed and suggested Tucker lived “a dangerous life” and could have been targeted by someone else.

Reed and Johnson, who authorities said fled from the area, remained on the lam until April 6, 2023, when they were apprehended by the U.S. Marshals Service in Atlantic City.

The investigation began at about 9:03 a.m. March 3, 2023, when a citizen riding his bicycle along the Schuylkill River Trail on the border of Norristown and West Norriton called 911 to report seeing a body in a wooded area between the trail and the Schuylkill River, according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective John Wittenberger and West Norriton Detective Mark Wassmer.

Arriving officers found Tucker, “lying in the wooded area down a steep embankment, approximately 100 feet from the trail,” with apparent gunshot wounds. Detectives recovered two .40-caliber fired cartridge casings in close proximity to Tucker, court documents indicate.

Detectives testified the casings were fired from the same unknown firearm.

Detectives testified investigators found no identification, no cellphone and no wallet with Tucker. Detectives used a fingerprint scanner to identify Tucker.

A forensic pathologist determined Tucker died of multiple gunshot wounds and the manner of death was ruled to be homicide.

Testimony revealed a female friend of Tucker’s phoned a brother of Tucker in the early morning hours of March 3 out of concern that Tucker never arrived at the residence they shared as planned by 11 p.m. March 2 and that he was missing. The woman, who was dating Tucker, subsequently told detectives she believed a man named “Cody” sent an Uber to their residence for Tucker earlier and Tucker left in the Uber and hadn’t been seen since then, according to previous testimony.

Witnesses said when they checked Tucker’s location on the “Find My iPhone” feature it indicated his location was on the Schuylkill River Trail near Norristown between 8:57 p.m. and 9 p.m. March 2 in the exact location where his body eventually was found. A check of Tucker’s cellphone location at 10:06 p.m. on March 2 indicated it was in the area of the 1000 block of West Airy Street, authorities said.

Detectives obtained video surveillance footage that showed Tucker arriving at Reed’s residence a little after 7 p.m. on March 2. Surveillance footage at 8:39 p.m. showed Reed, Tucker and Johnson, all of whom knew each other, walking toward the Schuylkill River Trail, according to court papers.

“The three then walked to a secluded area of the Schuylkill River Trail in West Norriton Township where Tucker was shot numerous times and killed and his property removed from him,” Wittenberger and Wassmer alleged in the arrest affidavit.

Video surveillance captured Reed and Johnson walking along West Airy Street at 10:06 p.m., the same place and time that witnesses previously told detectives the “Find My iPhone” feature located Tucker’s phone. Investigators alleged Reed and Johnson were in possession of Tucker’s cellphone after he had been shot and killed.

At 10:21 p.m., video surveillance depicted Reed and Johnson returning to Reed’s apartment on West Marshall Street, according to the arrest affidavit.