NORRISTOWN — After numerous trial delays, a Philadelphia teenager charged as an adult for her alleged role in the gunshot slaying of a Pottstown man during what prosecutors said was a botched robbery attempt of another male will face a jury on homicide charges in June.
The trial for Jahme Barnes, who was 17 at the time of the alleged homicide but has since turned 18, will begin on June 24 with jury selection, according to an order signed on Monday by Montgomery County Judge William R. Carpenter. The trial is expected to last about five days.
“The trial date has been selected after a conference with counsel and selected to accommodate the availability of counsel and witnesses. There shall be no continuance,” Carpenter wrote in the court order. “Attorneys are directed to properly notify any necessary witnesses and to have them available to testify when needed.”
Prosecutors Gabrielle Hughes and Robert Waeltz Jr. are handling the case. Defense lawyer James P. Lyons represents Barnes.
Barnes’ trial was delayed numerous times pending the resolution of pretrial matters.
Barnes faces charges of second- and third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault, robbery, possessing an instrument of crime, possession of a prohibited firearm and possession of a firearm by a minor in connection with the alleged 10 p.m. Aug. 28, 2022, shooting death of 25-year-old Dakari Rome and the shooting and wounding of a 17-year-old male, both from Pottstown.
With the charges, prosecutors alleged Barnes fired the gunshot that ultimately killed Rome.
Convictions of first-degree murder, which is an intentional killing, and second-degree murder, a killing committed during the course of another felony such as robbery, carry mandatory prison terms. A conviction of third-degree murder, a killing committed with malice, or cruelty, hardness of heart or recklessness of consequences, carries a possible maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.
While Barnes was 17 at the time of the slaying she was charged as an adult by prosecutors who relied on state laws that allow certain juveniles to face adult charges if they are accused of committing violent crimes with a weapon.
Carpenter previously denied Barnes’ bid to transfer her case to juvenile court where offenders can be kept under court supervision only until they are 21 and punishments are less severe and focus more on rehabilitation.
Last July, Kahseem Williams, 19, also of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to charges of third-degree murder and attempted murder in connection with his role in the fatal shooting. Williams was sentenced to 12 to 24 years in prison under a plea agreement.
Investigators relied on witness statements and video surveillance footage obtained from various cameras in the borough to identify the suspects and to uncover the alleged series of events that led up to the fatal shooting.
The investigation began about 10:06 p.m. Aug. 28 when Pottstown police responded to a call of shots fired in the area of the 100 block of Grant Street and arriving officers observed bloodstains and several fired cartridge casings on Grant Street at Union Alley, according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective Mark Minzola and Pottstown Detective Michael Glauner.
A 911 caller reported seeing a dark in color SUV parked on Grant Street at Union Alley at the time the gunshots were heard.
Moments later, police were notified that two gunshot victims had been transported to Pottstown Hospital in separate private vehicles. Rome sustained a single gunshot wound to his chest and was pronounced dead by an emergency room doctor.
The investigation determined Rome had been transported to the hospital in his own dark in color SUV. Williams, who left the hospital prior to the arrival of police, left his name and cellphone number with hospital personnel after he assisted Rome into the emergency room, according to the criminal complaint.
The second victim, a 17-year-old male, sustained a single gunshot wound to his left hand and had been transported to the hospital by his mother, detectives said. He was treated for the wound and released.
The investigation determined Rome and the 17-year-old, who were friends, were “hanging out” with Williams and Barnes and an unidentified female in Rome’s Audi SUV, according to court papers. Barnes allegedly was driving the Audi with Rome in the front passenger seat, Williams in the rear passenger seat, and the 17-year-old boy in the rear middle seat.
The 17-year-old boy told detectives that when the group traveled to the area of Grant Street and Union Alley, Rome asked to see his gun and the teenager handed it to Rome, who then handed it to Williams, who passed it to Barnes, according to investigators.
Barnes allegedly waved the firearm around while videotaping herself before she pointed the gun at the 17-year-old boy and said, “what else you got?” according to court documents.
As the 17-year-old boy reached for the firearm, Barnes fired a round that struck him in the left hand, detectives alleged.
The fired projectile passed through the 17-year-old victim’s hand and then struck Rome in the chest, according to the arrest affidavit.
The 17-year-old victim then fled from the vehicle and ran into Union Alley toward his residence and as he fled he “heard additional shots and saw sparks coming from the ground in the area where he was running,” Minzola and Glauner alleged. Authorities alleged in court papers that once outside the vehicle Barnes handed the firearm to Williams, who fired several shots at the fleeing 17-year-old.
Detectives located four 9mm fired cartridge casings in the street at the intersection of Union Alley and Grant Street, according to court documents.
Detectives alleged Barnes and Williams then got back into the Audi SUV and drove the injured Rome to the hospital emergency room.
An autopsy determined Rome’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest and the manner of death was ruled homicide.
