The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Anger erupts after men are convicted of killing bystander
NORRISTOWN >> Bedlam erupted in a Montgomery County courtroom when relatives of a man convicted of killing an innocent bystander during a Norristown shootout reacted with anger as sheriff’s deputies handcuffed him.
Joshua “Drill” Agudio Jr., shortly after being convicted of first-degree murder, pulled away and resisted sheriff’s deputies as they tried to handcuff him and things escalated to the point he had to be pushed to the courtroom floor in order to be taken into custody. At that point, relatives
of Agudio rushed forward in the courtroom, yelling obscenities at law enforcement and prosecutors. One relative angrily tried to overturn a bench outside the courtroom.
About two dozen sheriff’s deputies were on hand to quickly quell the disturbance and ushered spectators out of the courthouse.
The violent reaction occurred out of sight of the jury that moments earlier had convicted Agudio and Edwin “Bam” Islas-Cruz of first-degree murder, which required a specific intent to kill, in connection with the 5:21 p.m. Sept. 18, 2021, shootout in the 600 block of Astor Street that killed 51-year-old Barry Fields, an innocent bystander who was not involved in the shooting and was sitting on the steps of his residence enjoying a warm end of summer evening outdoors with family.
Members of Fields family were quickly ushered from the courtroom to a safe location as the defendants’ families reacted angrily.
The jury had deliberated five hours before reaching the verdict.
After the verdicts were announced, Judge William R. Carpenter immediately sentenced Islas-Cruz, 24, of the 100 block of West Fornance Street, and Agudio, 21, of the 1000 block of Forest Avenue, to life imprisonment, the mandatory term for a first-degree murder conviction.
“This was an absolute tragedy that these two defendants, who were beefing with each other, brought upon an innocent man and his family. It was a massive gun battle in the middle of a public street on a fall evening last year and they are being held accountable for their actions that caused
Edwin Islas-Cruz is escorted by sheriff’s deputies from a Montgomery County courtroom during a break at his homicide trial.
the death of an innocent man,” Assistant District Attorney Samantha Cauffman said after the verdict.
Defense lawyer Brendan Michael Campbell, who had argued Agudio acted in selfdefense during the shootout with Islas-Cruz, was disappointed in the jury’s verdict.
“We respect their decision but certainly we’re disappointed,” Campbell said.
“Obviously we’re disappointed with first-degree. I really don’t think my client had the specific intent to kill anybody that day,” said defense lawyer Todd R. Fiore, who represented Islas-Cruz, adding however that he respected the jury’s verdict.
The jury began deliberations on Thursday morning after hearing the closing statements from the lawyers and receiving legal instructions from the judge.
“These defendants took an innocent man’s life. They destroyed a family. They’re nothing but cowards,” Cauffman argued during her closing statement to jurors. “Teach them the code that we live by, the code of justice.”
While first-degree murder, which is an intentional killing, carried a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, a conviction of third-degree murder, a killing committed with malice, would have carried a possible
maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.
During the four-day trial, Cauffman alleged there was an ongoing “beef” between Agudio and Islas-Cruz and friends of Islas-Cruz and that the gun violence was an outgrowth of that disagreement.
Cauffman and co-prosecutor Gwendolyn Kull sought first-degree murder convictions against IslasCruz and Agudio, alleging the men had a “specific intent to kill” each other and that their conduct over the course of eight, violent seconds resulted in Fields’s death.
“Each one of them had the intent to kill that day. These two defendants did all they could in those eight seconds to kill each other. Eight seconds of laser focused hatred. In those eight seconds all they saw was an enemy that had to be eliminated,” Cauffman argued.
The men were charged with homicide under the legal theory of so-called “transferred intent,” which prosecutors use when a defendant allegedly 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.
“They engaged in an unbroken chain of events. They prolonged this gun battle. It took both of them to kill Barry,” Cauffman argued.
During an autopsy of Fields, a forensic pathologist noted a single entrance wound to the left side of the face, entering the left cheek and striking the brain stem.
The doctor recovered a projectile and ruled the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death was homicide.
Prosecutors alleged three 9mm handguns and a total of 39 bullets were fired during the shootout involving Islas-Cruz, his brother, Giovanni Islas, of the unit block of West Basin Street, and Agudio. Authorities are still searching for Giovanni Islas for his alleged role in the incident. While Islas was 16 at the time of the alleged shooting, he was charged as an adult because of the violent nature of crime.
Specifically, prosecutors alleged Islas-Cruz fired 12 shots from a 9mm Ruger handgun at Agudio and that Agudio fired 13 times at IslasCruz and Islas. Cauffman argued the number of gunshots was evidence of a specific intent to kill.
Prosecutors theorized the shot that killed Fields came from the weapon fired from Agudio’s location on the block. However, that weapon was never recovered because Agudio got rid of it after the shooting, prosecutors alleged.
While the shootout was captured by video surveillance cameras in the area, detectives weren’t able to determine who fired first.
But Campbell argued Agudio acted in self-defense when he was fired upon 25 times by IslasCruz and Islas, who drove onto the block in a black Toyota Camry. The jury also considered a charge of involuntary manslaugher against Agudio.
“They hunted him down, got out of the vehicle and started shooting and shooting and shooting and shooting 26 times. Sept. 18, 2021, was an absolute ambush,” Campbell argued during his closing statement, maintaining Agudio was justified in returning fire. “My client ran and shot back. He was running for his life and he was shooting back as he was being ambushed.”
Fiore initially suggested prosecutors did not present sufficient evidence to prove that Islas-Cruz was one of the men who arrived in the Toyota Camry or involved in the shootout. But Fiore argued that if jurors determined Islas-Cruz was present during the shootout then it was more a case of third-degree murder, acting with a reckless disregard for human life, and not first-degree murder, which requires specific intent to kill.
“There’s no specific intent to kill. It’s all about fear,” Fiore argued during his closing statement, suggesting Islas-Cruz fired