Norristown man convicted of murder in shooting
The trial of Khalif Sinclair centered on legal theory of ‘transferred intent’
A jury determined a Norristown man was responsible for the fatal shooting of another man by firing a gun into the home of a neighbor during a dispute and causing a shootout that directly resulted in the death of an occupant of that home who was not the intended target.
Khalif Abdulra Sinclair, 25, of the 500 block of West Lafayette Street, showed no outward emotion as the jury convicted him of firstdegree murder, person not to possess a firearm, possessing an instrument of crime and recklessly endangering another person in connection with the Nov. 20, 2020, fatal shooting of Abdur Small, who at times stayed at the neighboring residence where the shooting occurred.
The jury reached the verdict after three hours of deliberations.
Judge William R. Carpenter immediately sentenced Sinclair to life imprisonment, the mandatory term for a first-degree murder conviction.
“I think the jury worked hard, they got it. It was a very different concept with transferred intent,” Assistant District Attorney Samantha Cauffman reacted after the verdict was announced.
The jury had to consider the legal theory of so-called “transferred intent,” which prosecutors use when a defendant intends to kill one person but instead inadvertently causes the death of a second, different person. Under state law, the intent transfers from the intended victim to the actual victim.
Prosecutors maintained Sinclair went to the residence with a specific intent to kill and fired gunshots into the home of his neighbor, with whom he reportedly was involved in a dispute, and caused another occupant of the neighboring home to fire a weapon in self-defense, but striking Small who was standing nearby and who later died.
“When you look at the transferred intent and the causation of the death of Mr. Small it was directly the actions of the defendant in this case. Had he not gone over there with a firearm that night we would not have had a homicide in this case,” said co-prosecutor William Highland.
Defense lawyer A. Charles Peruto Jr. said Sinclair was “obviously disappointed” in the outcome.
Peruto argued at trial that Sinclair was not a killer and suggested the evidence, which included surveillance video that captured a portion of the shooting, didn’t support the prosecutor’s theory of the incident.
“Those videos are tough to get around and physical evidence doesn’t lie. So, I knew it was an uphill battle but I thought I gave him the best shot I could give him,” Peruto said afterward. “Transferred intent is a dangerous instruction from the court and we had this danger.”
Peruto said Sinclair plans to appeal the conviction.
“We have some good appellate issues and we’re going to preserve that,” Peruto said.
Some relatives and friends of Sinclair, a former Norristown High School football player, wept and were noticeably distraught as the verdict was announced.
“He is loved by many. He was loved by the community. Anybody that knows Khalif knows he doesn’t deserve life in prison. Anybody that was in that courtroom can see that he doesn’t deserve life in prison,” Kendell Sinclair, Khalif’s brother, said tearfully outside the courtroom after the verdict was announced. “We’re definitely going to appeal it and I think it will work in our favor. Anybody with a heart knows that my little brother doesn’t deserve life in prison.”
Cauffman and Highland sought a conviction of firstdegree degree murder, which is an intentional killing.
If Sinclair had not gone to the door of that residence armed with a handgun and not fired into the residence, the other occupant of the house would not have fired his weapon in self-defense and Small would still be alive, prosecutors argued.
“The defendant went to that house with the intent to kill. He went to that house with malice in his heart and murder on his mind,” Cauffman argued to the jury during her closing statement on Wednesday. “He initiated an unbroken chain of events that led to the death of Abdur Small.”
Prosecutors argued it was Sinclair who fired the first gunshot during the incident.
But Peruto suggested three others inside the home “gunned up” and opened fire on Sinclair as he was standing in the doorway of the residence. Peruto suggested Sinclair fired one shot in the air and ran away.
“It was to scare (the neighbor) to show he’s a badass too. He shoots above the head. Is that intent to kill or is that intent to be a badass?” Peruto said during his closing argument to jurors. “It was not intent to kill. The defendant’s intentions are borne out by evidence he was shooting over his head. It’s not murder.”
Peruto conceded that Sinclair was guilty of the weapons charges but argued his conduct didn’t rise to murder.
“Yes, he did a stupid thing and he’s going to pay. But it’s not murder,” Peruto argued. “He did a dangerous thing. He’s lucky he didn’t get carried out in a body bag.”
Sinclair did not testify during the trial.
Prosecutors alleged that when Sinclair initially went to his neighbor’s home earlier in the day and argued with his neighbor he left feeling insulted and disrespected. Cauffman argued that disrespect “infuriated” Sinclair and later that evening he returned with a gun and fired that gun into the home when someone opened the door.
Jurors saw home surveillance camera footage that captured part of the incident from outside the home, footage that showed the flash from a firearm.
The investigation began about 5:34 p.m. Nov. 20 when Norristown police responded to a home in the 500 block of West Lafayette Street for a reported shooting. Arriving officers found Small, 21, in the living room of the residence suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the head, according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective Anthony Caso and Norristown Police Corporal James Angelucci.
Small was transported to Suburban Community Hospital and later transferred to Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia where he was pronounced dead on Nov. 21. An autopsy determined Small died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head and a single .22-caliber projectile was recovered from Small’s body during the autopsy.
Detectives recovered two fired 9mm cartridge casings and one fired .22-caliber cartridge casing in the living room of the residence, as well as a projectile from the living room wall, according to testimony.
Detectives also secured and reviewed digital video surveillance footage from the area surrounding the residence. That video footage depicted a 2:45 p.m. Nov. 20 verbal confrontation between Sinclair, his neighbor and several occupants of the residence, according to testimony.
Witnesses claimed Sinclair wanted to fight his neighbor. One witness testified he overheard Sinclair state, “If you don’t want to die, don’t be here when I get back.”
“Those are not fighting words. They are words of intent. You don’t come back armed with a gun if you just want to fight,” Cauffman argued.
Less than three hours later, at approximately 5:30 p.m., according to witness accounts and surveillance video, Sinclair walked onto the porch of the neighbor’s residence. As someone opened the front door, Sinclair fired two shots from a 9mm handgun into the residence, prompting one of the home’s residents to return fire using a .22-caliber firearm, detectives alleged.
Small was closest to the door as the shots were fired and he was struck by a .22-caliber bullet that the autopsy confirmed was fired by one of the home’s other occupants.
Witnesses described Small as standing between Sinclair and the other occupant who was armed with the .22-caliber weapon. The other occupant of the home claimed to be in fear for his life at the time of the shooting.
Witnesses claimed the other occupant of the home “accidentally” struck Small.
Sinclair was the only person charged in connection with the incident.
Cellphone data showed that in the days after the homicide Sinclair traveled to Philadelphia, Atlanta, Tampa and Miami, evidence prosecutors suggested shows he fled from Norristown and was indicative of his consciousness of guilt.