NORRISTOWN — A Montgomery County jury determined a Pottstown man acted with specific intent to kill when he fatally shot another man with a shotgun during a disturbance in the Bright Hope community.
Armani Cortez Rhedrick, 22, of the 400 block of West King Street, showed no emotion as the jury convicted him on Wednesday night of first-degree murder, which is an intentional killing, as well as charges of possessing an instrument of crime and tampering with evidence in connection with the Sept. 23, 2019, fatal shooting of 31-year-old Otis Harris.
With its verdict, the jury rejected Rhedrick’s claim that he shot Harris in self-defense.
After the jury was ushered from the courtroom, members of Rhedrick’s family wept and angrily lashed out at prosecutors with obscenities in the courtroom. Outside the courtroom, Rhedrick’s relatives also verbally clashed briefly with Harris’ survivors and sheriff’s deputies quickly quelled the disturbance and separated the families.
After the verdict was announced, Judge William R. Carpenter immediately sentenced Rhedrick to life imprisonment, the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder.
“This defendant gunned down an innocent man, slaughtered him. Each one of the three gunshots was fatal, so he essentially killed Otis three times. It could never have been anything other than first-degree murder,” county Assistant District Attorney Samantha Cauffman said after the verdict.
Co-prosecutor Kelli McGinnis praised county and Pottstown detectives for the investigation that led to the conviction.
“And we appreciate the family of the victim for being so strong and for being here. They had to relive what was one of the worst days, if not the worst day, of their lives and we’re happy that justice was served here,” McGinnis said.
The jury rejected lesser charges of third-degree murder, which is a killing with malice, and voluntary manslaughter, a killing that occurs when a person acts with an unreasonable belief that their actions are justified.
During the trial, Cauffman characterized the shooting as a “cold-blooded execution” and argued Rhedrick committed “a premeditated, unjustifiable, intentional murder.”
“He shot Otis in the chest, in the back and in the head. That’s anger. That’s vengeance. He was shooting to kill. He chose to end a man’s life,” Cauffman argued during her closing statement to jurors.
But defense lawyer Evan T.L. Hughes, arguing for Rhedrick’s acquittal of all charges, maintained Rhedrick acted in self-defense, and to protect his girlfriend and infant child, when Harris and another man invaded his home and attacked him and when Harris pointed a gun at him as he chased the men outside his home.
“They forced their way in, attacked him in his own home…and he defended himself with a legally owned firearm. Mr. Rhedrick is forced to fire and put down Otis Harris,” Hughes argued during his closing statement. “Armani had a reasonable belief that he was in danger of death or serious bodily injury.”
Rhedrick testified he shot Harris in self-defense, claiming Harris and Rayshawn McKay, Harris’ nephew, showed up at his West King Street home shortly after 8 a.m. Sept. 23 and forced their way inside and assaulted him. Rhedrick claimed he retrieved his 12-gauge pump action shotgun from a closet and chased the men from his home and eventually caught up with Harris outside and ordered Harris to “Stop.”
“That’s when he pulled a gun out and that’s when I fired my shotgun,” Rhedrick claimed, referring to his encounter with Harris. “I was just protecting my family, myself. I had no options.”
Rhedrick’s trial testimony was inconsistent with what he told detectives during a statement taken a day after the shooting, a statement in which he claimed Harris was unarmed and that he shot Harris because he believed Harris would “let his friend get me.”
During cross-examination, Cauffman aggressively challenged Rhedrick about the inconsistencies in his initial statement and his trial testimony.
“It’s an incomplete statement. There’s parts and pieces that are missing,” Rhedrick claimed, referring to his initial statement. “They never game me a chance to fix the mistakes or things misinterpreted.”
Rhedrick claimed he was “nervous, scared, terrified and overwhelmed” and felt pressured to give an initial statement and that he left out key details at the time.
But testimony revealed detectives gave Rhedrick the chance to review his Sept. 24 written statement and Rhedrick did make several corrections on the paper but never indicated Harris was armed at the time of the shooting.
Prosecutors argued the first time Rhedrick claimed Harris was armed was during his trial testimony on Wednesday. Cauffman and McGinnis suggested Rhedrick’s statements are self-serving and that the unarmed Harris never assaulted Rhedrick.
Rhedrick’s intial statement and testimony also differed from what prosecution witnesses testified they observed.
Testimony revealed the investigation began about 8:27 a.m. Sept. 23 when Pottstown police responded to a report of a shooting in the unit block of Scott Street. Arriving officers found Harris on the sidewalk in front of a residence there.
“Harris sustained an apparent gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene,” county Detective John Wittenberger and Pottstown Detective Corporal Michael Breslin wrote in the arrest affidavit, adding three fired 12-gauge shotgun shells were recovered in the area of Harris’ body.
Prosecution witnesses testified the shooting occurred minutes after a physical altercation between Rhedrick and Harris’ nephew, Rayshawn McKay, at Rhedrick’s home. McKay testified on Monday that after the fight he returned to Harris’ Scott Street home, where he was staying, and told Harris about the altercation.
Harris, according to prosecution witnesses, then went outside and witnesses reported hearing three gunshots within minutes. Prosecutors maintain Harris was unarmed. McKay testified he was upstairs in Harris’ home when he heard the gunshots.
Rhedrick’s West King Street residence is about 150 feet away from the scene of the shooting.
McKay repeatedly denied Hughes’ suggestion that he and Harris had invaded Rhedrick’s home while armed with guns and McKay maintained Harris was not present for the earlier altercation he had with Rhedrick.
McKay was not charged with any crimes.
Other prosecution witnesses reported observing Rhedrick carrying a rifle wrapped inside a blanket, getting into a silver Hyundai sedan and leaving the scene of the shooting.
Rhedrick was taken into custody a day after the fatal shooting at his mother’s residence in Philadelphia.
Source: Berkshire mont
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