Rewards offered for information regarding 2 men

Suspects wanted in Pottstown gunshot slaying

NORRISTOWN » Montgomery County authorities are seeking the public’s help and offering a reward for information that leads to the apprehension of two males wanted in connection with their alleged roles in the October fatal shooting of a man in Pottstown during a botched marijuana robbery.

Authorities are searching for Ahmed Mohammed, 16, and Samir Bentley, 20, two Philadelphia men accused of taking part in the fatal shooting, and on Wednesday offered rewards of $2,500 each for information leading to their arrests.

Mohammed, of the 4700 block of Valley Place, and Bentley, of the 1600 block of North 16th Street, each face charges of first-, second-, and third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and related charges in connection with their alleged roles in the Oct. 23, 2021, fatal shooting of Robert Stiles in the 400 block of East High Street.

The rewards were announced by Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Pottstown Police Chief Michael Markovich.

“These two defendants went looking for the victim and when they found him, they shot him dead, using a firearm that neither man was legally allowed to possess,” Steele alleged on Wednesday. “This is a chilling murder, and we need to get them off the street and behind bars.”

Bentley is described as 5-foot, 8-inches tall and weighs approximately 130 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. Mohammed is 5-foot, 3-inches tall, weighs approximately 120 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes, authorities said.

Steele said Bentley and Mohammed are considered armed and dangerous and added that if anyone sees either of them, they should not approach them and should immediately call 911.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the men should call Pottstown Police at 610-970-6570 or the Montgomery County Detective Bureau at 610226-5553.

Anonymous text tips can be submitted using MontcoCrimeTips on the STOPit! app. The STOPit! app can be downloaded for free from the App Store for iPhones or Google Play for Android devices and then use the code MONTCOPA to get the Montgomery County version of the app.

A third Philadelphia man accused of participating in the fatal shooting, Daijon Naseer Harrison, 22, of the 2100 block of North Woodstock Street, previously surrendered to U.S. Marshals in Philadelphia and is awaiting court action on homicide-related charges.

A fourth man, Eric Baker, 26, of the 300 block of West Poplar Street, Norristown, was apprehended on Nov. 3 by county detectives in a residence in Norristown and is accused of firing an assault-style weapon at Bentley, Harrison and Mohammed as they fled from the fatal shooting scene. Baker is charged with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, person not to possess a firearm and possessing an instrument of crime.

The investigation began at 8:26 p.m. Oct. 23 when Pottstown police were dispatched to the 400 block of East High Street for a report of a shooting and found Stiles, 27, lying on the sidewalk, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, according to a criminal complaint filed by county Detective Jamie Lavin and Pottstown Detective Brooke Hatfield.

Stiles was transported to the Reading Trauma Center where he was pronounced dead at 11:32 p.m.

Several minutes after the shooting, police were dispatched to a crash at North Washington and Beech streets involving a white Toyota Corolla and a black Nissan Altima. Witnesses reported observing four people running from the Nissan and described one of the subjects as having dreadlocks and carrying a long gun, according to court papers.

A 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun was recovered from the Toyota and a Pennsylvania ID update card belonging to Baker was found in the Nissan, authorities alleged.

Detectives reviewed camera surveillance from the 400 block of East High Street that recorded video and audio from the shooting.

“In reviewing the video and audio detectives observed the victim, Robert Stiles, was the victim of a robbery at the time he was shot,” Lavin and Hatfield alleged in the criminal complaint.

Detectives alleged the video recording depicted Stiles standing in the block when he allegedly was grabbed by Mohammed, who pulled Stiles into the “cut” at 439 E. High St. Witnesses could be heard on the surveillance recording claiming Stiles was being robbed and gunned down, according to court papers.

As Mohammed and the victim were in the “cut,” Bentley and Harrison approached, detectives alleged.

“Harrison can be seen removing a handgun from his waistband and handing it to Bentley. One single gunshot can be heard fired from the ‘cut,’ followed immediately by three more gunshots that are fired by Bentley. The victim can be seen falling to the ground…,” detectives wrote in the arrest affidavit.

Detectives alleged Mohammed, Bentley and Harrison fled to a dark-colored minivan that was parked nearby. Detectives recovered a cellphone that was dropped as the shooters fled and the phone’s background photo depicted Bentley, authorities alleged.

According to court papers, as the minivan pulled away, Baker, wearing a hooded sweatshirt embossed with a “Glock” emblem and sporting shoulder-length dreadlocks, was observed on video surveillance firing an assault rifle at the minivan as it flees.

As Stiles was lying on the sidewalk, he can be heard on the audio saying, “I’m shot, I’m shot, Bro I’m shot, help me, help me, help me, help me, help me, help me, help me, help me,” according to court papers.

Stiles also can be seen discarding a clear plastic bag, throwing it several feet from where he was laying.

“This bag was later recovered at the scene and found to contain multiple ounces of marijuana,” Lavin and Hatfield alleged.

An autopsy determined Stiles died from multiple gunshot wounds and the manner of death was ruled homicide. A forensic pathologist noted a bullet entrance wound on Stiles’ back above his hip, which exited on the left side, and a bullet entrance in his stomach area, above the right hip.

“The projectile from this wound lodged in the victim’s spine and was recovered,” detectives wrote in the criminal complaint.

Detectives processed the scene of the shooting and recovered three .45-caliber fired cartridge casings, one 9mm fired cartridge casing and seven .22-caliber fired cartridge casings, according to court papers.

The .45-caliber casings were recovered from the area where Bentley allegedly fired the handgun. The 9mm casing was recovered in the “cut” area where the initial gunshot was heard and the .22-caliber casings were recovered from the sidewalk where Baker fired the assault-style rifle, according to the criminal complaint.

After the shooting, a white Toyota Corolla pulled up to the scene and a passenger exited the vehicle, detectives said. The vehicle then pulled away, traveling east on High Street in the westbound lanes and turned left onto Washington Street.

Video surveillance also depicted a black Nissan Altima, which had been parked in the area of the shooting, and immediately after the shooting the Nissan was observed fleeing the scene westbound on High Street.

Detectives believe that the two vehicles are the same vehicles that collided with each other at North Washington and Beech streets minutes later.

Police and detectives subsequently identified a 2011 Chrysler Town and Country minivan used as the getaway vehicle and discovered that it had been reported stolen in Philadelphia on Oct. 13 during a gunpoint robbery, according to court papers. The minivan was later found abandoned with a flat tire in Royersford and was towed from a location across from the Wawa store on Main Street.

“On the driver side of the vehicle there were three obvious bullet holes,” detectives said.

Surveillance video from the Wawa store depicted Bentley and Mohammed entering the store at 8:50 p.m., a little more than 20 minutes after the murder, where they purchased food and then left at 9:04 p.m., according to court papers.