Oley man admits to shooting.

NORRISTOWN >> The jury was selected, and the trial was set to begin on attempted homicide and related charges when Herman Cave accepted a plea agreement in connection to a July 2014 shooting in Norristown.

Cave, 31, of the first block of Scholl Drive in Oley, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of aggravated assault Tuesday in front of President Judge William J. Furber Jr. in Montgomery County Court. The agreement included a sentence of six to 12 years in state prison.

The admission of guilt also led to probation and parole violations. Assistant District Attorney Stewart Ryan said Cave has prior robbery and drug-related convictions.

“I think it was a combination both of the serious circumstances surrounding the crime, the fact that he pointed a gun and fired it at someone, and potentially could have killed them but ultimately caused serious bodily injury,” Ryan said. “Aside from that, he had a significant criminal history and that played into the six to 12 years as well.”

Cave was arrested following a shooting on the 1000 block of New Hope Street in Norristown on July 16, 2014. Police responded to the report of a shooting in an apartment to find blood smeared on the vertical blinds in one of the windows, according to the arrest affidavit. Once inside, police also found blood on the furniture and walls, along with an undisclosed amount of marijuana in plain view, though no one was inside the apartment.

Soon after, police encountered one of the victim’s roommates, who explained that he was in his own room when he heard a loud noise come from the living room. Then the victim, Raheem Jones, banged on his door, bleeding and screaming that he has been shot, the affidavit said.

Police also made contact with the man who was with Jones at the time of the shooting, who drove Jones to the hospital. The witness told police that a man named “Herm” and another man stopped by the apartment , supposedly to purchase Jones’ dirt bike. Instead, the two men pulled out guns and made Jones and his friend get on the floor, according to the affidavit.

Jones and “Herm” got into a fight during this time, the witness told police, which led to “Herm” firing the gun at Jones.

“He lost his left eye,” Ryan said of the victim. “He was able to move his hand in front of his face, which deflected the projectile from the gun. Though the damage was significant in that he lost his left eye, it certainly could have been a lot worse.”

After the gun was fired, the two men told the witness to empty his pockets, then went into Jones’ bedroom and took bags of marijuana that Jones was allegedly selling, according to police.

During the investigation, police found a cell phone inside the apartment that did not belong to any of the residents. The cell phone was traced to Cave, the affidavit said. The report also de- tailed Cave’s guilty pleas to robbery in 2005 and drug delivery charges in 2013, which prohibit him from possessing a firearm.

Throughout his appearance in court Tuesday, Cave politely answered questions from attorneys and Judge Furber about his plea saying “yes, sir” and “no, sir” and thanked the judge when leaving the stand. He even shook Ryan’s hand after the plea agreement was reached.

As part of the plea agreement, the charge of attempted homicide, along with more than two dozen related assault, robbery and firearms violation charges, were dismissed.