Man, 18, jailed in fatal home invasion
NORRISTOWN >> During an emotion-filled hearing, a Pottstown teenager learned he’ll spend up to two decades in prison after he admitted to participating in a home invasion robbery that ended with his accomplice fatally shooting a borough woman.
Camren Xavier Williams, 18, of the 800 block of North Franklin Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Thursday to 8 to 20 years in prison for his role in the 6:40 p.m. Nov. 18, 2018, gunshot slaying of Sylvia Williams, 38, a mother of three, inside a residence in the 300 block of North Washington Street.
“This crime presents a tragedy for two families,” said Judge Richard P. Haaz, referring to the raw emotion expressed during the hearing by the victim’s relatives and by those who supported the defendant.
Camren Williams, who was 17 at the time of the crime, previously pleaded guilty to charges of third-degree murder, conspiracy and possessing an instrument of crime.
Camren Williams and the victim were not
related.
With the charges, prosecutors Allison Ruth and Evan Correia alleged Camren Williams conspired with Aaron Joseph Taylor, 19, to commit a home invasion in which the goal was to steal money and or drugs. The victim and her boyfriend hid in an upstairs bedroom and Taylor followed and fired a gunshot through a closed door, fatally striking Sylvia Williams, who was assisting her boyfriend in holding the door closed.
Camren Williams, armed with a BB gun, was positioned downstairs in the home as Taylor went upstairs and fired the fatal shot, according to testimony. Camren Williams was charged with homicide under accomplice liability theories.
An autopsy determined Sylvia Williams died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective John Wittenberger and Pottstown Detective Mark Wickersham.
Taylor, 19, of the first block of West Second Street, previously pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, admitting to his role as the triggerman, and was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison as part of a plea agreement.
The victim’s twin sister, Sharon Williams, sobbed uncontrollably and uttered, “Oh God,” as the 911 call placed by the victim’s young son shortly after the shooting was played in court and he could be heard saying to the operator, “I don’t think she’s alive.”
“I know you didn’t shoot my sister but your actions are the reason she’s gone. I lost a piece of me,” Sharon Williams confronted Camren.
Sharon Williams acknowledged that Camren’s mother also “feels the pain that I do. Somebody else hurts just as bad as I do…you disappointed her so bad.”
While at one point she told the teenager she forgave him, Sharon Williams said she hoped the judge sentenced him to the maximum possible sentence. Prosecutors didn’t oppose a defense recommended sentencing range that included a term of no less than eight years, allowable under state sentencing guidelines.
After the hearing, a distraught Sharon Williams said she was disappointed that the teenager won’t see more time behind bars.
“It’s absurd. I’m not happy,” Sharon Williams said.
Those who supported Camren Williams testified he was a good kid who was “respectful” and they expressed “shock” upon learning he was involved in the fatal home invasion.
“He was raised very well. He seemed to be on the track to do the right thing. I believe he can be rehabilitated,” said John Spink, a former Philadelphia detective and a relative of Camren through marriage.
“When I saw his name in the paper it shook me. He was a bright kid, very intelligent, witty,” Mark Agnew, Camren’s former teacher at Pottstown High School, told the judge. “I know he’s remorseful. I’m disappointed but I also have some hope… that he can make something of his life.”
Camren’s mother, Tracy, said her son made “a jackass decision” to participate in the incident with Taylor and said he “did a horrible thing.” She wept as she addressed the victim’s family.
“I did not raise my son this way. I wish I could wipe the pain away from you guys, I really do. My heart hurts for you constantly,” Tracy Williams, dabbing tears from her eyes, testified.
Camren Williams appeared to shake and wipe tears from his eyes as the victim’s relatives confronted him in court and as he listened to the disappointment expressed by his own relatives.
“I’m really sorry. It wasn’t supposed to happen like that. I know it’s hard on all of you. I apologize and I mean it. It’s not what I’m about,” Camren Williams addressed the victim’s family and then turned to his mother, telling her, “I’m sorry for letting you down.”
Defense lawyer John I. McMahon Jr. asked the judge to fashion a sentence that considered Camren’s young age at the time of the incident, his “high level of remorse” and his cooperation with detectives. McMahon said the teenager reached out to detectives before he was ever charged with a crime and confessed.
“He had the character and humanity and conscience… and he agreed to cooperate. He flushed all that street stuff – ‘Don’t talk, don’t be a rat’ – down the toilet and he cooperated,” McMahon said. “He’s not a hardened criminal.
He got into something way over his head and now he’s got to pay for it.”
When he was interviewed by detectives, Camren Williams claimed he and Taylor targeted the residence because they believed the home was that of a “big drug dealer,” however, they left without any cash or property, according to court documents.
Camren Williams told detectives he was armed with a BB pistol and Taylor was armed with a Ruger .22-caliber pistol. A projectile retrieved from the victim’s body was consistent with that of a .22-caliber, detectives alleged.
Camren Williams told detectives he remained on the first-floor of the residence while Taylor went upstairs. The teenager said he watched Taylor fire a single gunshot while on the second-floor stairway, according to the criminal complaint.
The teenager told police that during the getaway he discarded the pistol, shoes, jacket and the T-shirt which was used as a mask to cover his face, according to the arrest affidavit.
“This crime presents a tragedy for two families.”
- Montgomery County Judge Richard P. Haaz