NORRISTOWN — A West Pottsgrove teenager accused of the gunshot slaying of a man during an altercation the day before Thanksgiving, just yards from the borough police station, has lost his bid to transfer his case to juvenile court.
“It was an execution-style killing in broad daylight near the Pottstown Police Department,” said Montgomery County Judge William R. Carpenter, emphasizing the impact of Thomas James Niarhos’ alleged gun violence on the victim’s family and the Pottstown community was “extreme.”
Transferring Niarhos’ case to juvenile court, which would allow him to be released from supervision once he turned 21, “is clearly against the public interest,” Carpenter ruled after a juvenile decertification hearing on Monday.
As a result, Niarhos, 16, of the unit block of East Race Street, will continue to face charges of first- and third-degree murder, firearms not to be carried without a license, possessing an instrument of crime, and possession of a firearm by a minor in adult court in connection with the Nov. 22, 2023, gunshot slaying of 39-year-old Jeramiah Waylon Hawkins.
Niarhos, who was 15 at the time of the alleged killing, was charged as an adult because of the violent nature of the crime.
Niarhos, wearing a black shirt and black pants, showed no emotion during the hearing and did not react to the judge’s ruling. A judge will now set his trial date.
The teenager is the son of well-known homeless advocate Tom Niarhos, executive director of the Pottstown homeless agency Beacon of Hope. The teenager was supported in the courtroom by his parents and more than a dozen other friends and relatives.
Several relatives of Hawkins also attended the hearing.
Samantha Burgess, the sister of Hawkins, testified her family wanted Niarhos to be prosecuted “as an adult for an adult crime.”
“There was no excuse for what he did,” said Burgess, adding her brother’s death was “a huge loss to our family.”
Defense lawyers James P. Lyons and Karen R. Thek argued Niarhos’ young age, his lack of maturity, his unstable and dysfunctional childhood, his lack of a prior criminal record and his substance use and mental health problems were sufficient reasons to move his case to juvenile court, where potential punishments are less harsh and the focus is more on rehabilitation and treatment.
Lyons and Thek argued transferring the case to juvenile court would serve the public interest and that Niarhos needs structured treatment and rehabilitative programs that an adult prison cannot adequately provide. Alana Hook, chief of social services and policy in the public defender’s office, testified the state’s adult prisons don’t specifically address an adolescent offender’s therapeutic needs.
“He’s exceptionally bright. He is capable of change and he’s capable of being rehabilitated,” Lyons argued, adding placing Niarhos in an adult facility would expose him to violent criminals. “He’s going to be victimized on a daily basis, often violently, during his formative years.”
Lyons and Thek argued keeping Niarhos in the juvenile system until he’s 21 would provide sufficient time for him to be rehabilitated. Lyons suggested Niarhos is not a threat to the community.
“This is not in any way, shape or form a sophisticated crime. I think his substance use absolutely contributed to what happened. This was a fixation on one individual borne of a drug disorder. It was impulsive. But the chances of that being repeated I would say are zero,” Lyons argued.
Dr. Gillian Blair, a psychologist who evaluated Niarhos for the defense, testified Niarhos was raised in a family of “extreme discord and extreme dysfunction” and had previously been diagnosed at age 12 with major depression with psychotic features and that he did not receive consistent treatment.
“Thomas’ early life was marked by chaos. He was stating he was suicidal and he was cutting. He has considerable scars on his arms,” testified Blair, who concluded that placing Niarhos in a juvenile facility would provide him the treatment and structure he needs.
But Assistant District Attorney Lauren Marvel argued Niarhos’ case should proceed in adult court.
“This is a case that involved a premeditated homicide and it happened in broad daylight in a very public place. It was an incredibly serious crime and it was committed by someone who is in need of substantial treatment, supervision and rehabilitation before he should be permitted back out on the streets,” Marvel said. “This is a case where we are confident that this is an individual who cannot be unsupervised at 21.”
Testimony revealed that shortly before the incident Niarhos sent a message via the social media app Snapchat, stating “about to do a good deed.” Several months before the incident, Niarhos, according to testimony, made threats to harm the victim.
Testimony also revealed that after he was arrested, Niarhos questioned a detective if his case would play out in juvenile or adult court, adding he “researched this.” Marvel suggested such statements signified premeditation and a degree of criminal sophistication.
“These are important glimpses into the defendant’s mind. It was prolonged, thoughtful and premeditated,” argued Marvel, who handled the case with co-prosecutor Anne O’Connell. “It’s simply not possible for you to say with confidence that he will be safe in the community after four years.”
Court documents indicate the altercation between Niarhos and Hawkins may have been related to Niarhos’ belief that Hawkins had raped his 16-year-old girlfriend several months earlier. In July 2023, Niarhos allegedly told police that a homeless man named “Jay” was responsible for the rape.
Court documents indicate Pottstown detectives investigated the accusations and the girl’s mother told detectives the girl would only say that “something had happened to her” in Pottstown but would provide no details. The girl’s mother told detectives the family did not wish to press charges.
Witnesses to the shooting told detectives that Niarhos yelled “you’re a rapist,” at Hawkins during the fatal encounter. Testimony revealed Niarhos also told others in the area not to help Hawkins.
A conviction of a juvenile in adult court of first-degree murder can carry a sentence of 35 years to life imprisonment. First-degree murder is an intentional killing. The U.S. Supreme Court previously ruled that mandatory life terms for juveniles were unconstitutional
A conviction of third-degree murder, a killing committed with malice, a hardness of heart or recklessness of consequences, carries a possible maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in adult court.
Niarhos will remain in custody without bail pending trial.
Hawkins’ relatives previously told MediaNews Group they didn’t believe the rape accusations and that Hawkins would never hurt another person.
Relatives of Hawkins also refuted officials’ previous statements that Hawkins was homeless at the time of his death. They said Hawkins, while at times may have briefly experienced homelessness, resided in an apartment in the Germantown section of Philadelphia at the time of his death.
The investigation began about 12:07 p.m. Nov. 22, when Pottstown police were dispatched to a shooting on South Hanover Street at Security Plaza, near the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks and the hub for the Pottstown Area Rapid Transit bus routes.
“Several witnesses to the shooting pointed out the male shooting victim (Hawkins), who was lying on South Hanover Street at the entrance to Security Plaza,” county Detective John Wittenberger and Pottstown Detective Michael Damiano wrote in the arrest affidavit.
Witnesses also directed police to the parking lot area of the Blue Elephant Restaurant where witnesses had detained Niarhos, who they identified as the shooter.
As police took Niarhos into custody, a police body camera recorded Niarhos screaming, “he’s a rapist, don’t be sorry for him” and “he raped a 15-year-old girl, don’t help him,” to first responders treating Hawkins, according to the criminal complaint.
Police said Hawkins had an obvious gunshot wound to the head and he was transported to Pottstown Hospital where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy determined Hawkins had been shot once on the right side of his face at close range. A forensic pathologist determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death was homicide.
According to detectives, witnesses reported they had observed Hawkins and Niarhos arguing and Niarhos brandishing a handgun and firing it at Hawkins during the argument. One witness told police he heard Niarhos repeatedly yelling, “You’re a rapist” and shooting the victim “point blank,” according to the criminal complaint.
Detectives obtained surveillance camera footage that captured the alleged shooting. In the video, Niarhos “can be seen extending his arm toward Hawkins, at close range, as if holding a firearm.”
Hawkins, who was near a bike and holding a spare tire, appeared to attempt to knock the gun out of Niarhos’ hand with the bicycle tire, but Niarhos fired one single shot at Hawkins’ face “and Hawkins immediately falls to the ground,” detectives alleged.
“As Hawkins is falling to the ground, it appears Niarhos fires a second shot at Hawkins before dropping the gun and quickly walking away toward the parking lot of the Blue Elephant,” Wittenberger and Damiano alleged.
Detectives recovered a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson semiautomatic handgun and two fired cartridge casings at the scene of the shooting.
Detectives determined the firearm belonged to Niarhos’ father, who told detectives he kept his gun in a locked nightstand in his bedroom and kept the key in another location in the bedroom, according to court papers. Niarhos’ father told detectives that was the only firearm that was missing from his residence.
“Mr. Niarhos stated that he had no knowledge that his son took or possessed his firearm. Mr. Niarhos informed detectives that today (Nov. 22) he found a note in his son’s bedroom indicating that his son planned to run away and located a packed bag of clothes and a cellular phone charger in his son’s bedroom,” Wittenberger and Damiano wrote in court papers.
