Reading police have charged a Wernersville man as an accomplice in the fatal shooting of a city teen near the 11th & Pike Playground in September.
Jaime Acevedo Jr., 26, was arrested Thursday morning when he arrived to meet his parole office at the state parole office in Reading, officials said.
He faces charges of first-, second- and third-degree murder, aggravated assault and related offenses in the Sept. 12 shooting death of 18-year-old Dominic Amsbaugh in the 1100 block of Amity Street.
Acevedo of the 100 block of Bucks Street was committed to Berks County Prison without bail to await a hearing.
Acevedo is accused of conspiring with Jovanni M. Pena, 16, of Reading, who was arrested three days after the killing, in the robbery and shooting of Amsbaugh. Pena was charged as an adult with first-, second- and third-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy.
He was ordered to be held for court following a preliminary hearing Nov. 30 and is being held in an out-of-county prison to await further court action.
According to investigators;
Pena arranged via a social media app to buy a handgun from Amsbaugh for $700. Acevedo arrived with Pena for the meeting.
A witness said Amsbaugh arrived carrying a sneaker box.
He said one of the males, later identified as Acevedo, asked Amsbaugh if he had the gun with him. When he said he did, Acevedo and the other male, later identified as Pena, each drew a handgun and pointed the weapons at Amsbaugh.
Amsbaugh tried to get the handgun out of the sneaker box, but Acevedo held his arms.
Someone described as a witness shoved Pena. After falling, Pena got up and shot Amsbaugh in the back of the head while Acevedo was still holding his arms.
Investigators identified Pena as a suspect. They learned he drove a white Nissan Altima and found video footage showing that a white Nissan Altima was parked in the 1500 block of Birch Street, close to the playground, before and just after the shooting.
Two people were seen walking west on the south side of the 1100 block of Amity Street just before the shooting. One appeared to have braids and was wearing black shorts with a distinct Nike swoosh. The other was a tall male wearing a ski mask, tan pants and black hooded sweatshirt.
Two minutes later they are seen running east on Amity toward North 12th Street.
One of the investigators was already monitoring Pena’s social media profile in an unrelated investigation. He found a photo of Pena, with braided hair, and black shorts with a large Nike swoosh on the side. A handgun with a blue laser and light was in the photo.
Video footage obtained from the Reading School District showed the clothing Pena wore to school earlier the day of the shooting was identical to the outfit of the alleged shooter.
The weapon was recovered from Pena’s home in the 1100 block of Scott Street when police took Pena into custody.
Video footage also helped investigators identify Acevedo as the other suspect. Footage from 13th and Union Elementary School just after the killing shows a tall male wearing tan pants running from Birch to Union Street to a parked car registered to Acevedo.
Investigators showed the video clip to a state parole officer who identified the running male as Acevedo.
Months after the shooting, while monitoring Pena’s video calls from jail, investigators learned an associate of Pena’s had a cellphone that belonged to him. On Jan. 3, investigators obtained a search warrant and seized the phone from a resident in the 600 block of Brookline Plaza.
A forensic download uncovered several Facetime conversations between Pena and Acevedo on Sept. 11 and 12, including one about a half-hour before the shooting at 11th and Pike.
Source: Berkshire mont