NORRISTOWN — A 19-year-old Philadelphia woman faces at least a decade in prison after she admitted that her reckless behavior with a firearm resulted in the gunshot slaying of a Pottstown man and the wounding of a borough teenager who was shot in the hand inside a vehicle during what prosecutors had alleged was a botched robbery attempt.
Jahme Barnes was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Wednesday to 10 to 25 years in the State Correctional Institution at Muncy on charges of third-degree murder, aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and person not to possess a firearm in connection the 10 p.m. Aug. 28, 2022, shooting death of Dakari Rome, 25, of Pottstown, and the wounding of a 17-year-old male inside a vehicle at Grant Street and Union Alley.
Barnes, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, was charged as an adult because of the violent nature of the crime. She pleaded guilty to the charges earlier this year.
Third-degree murder is a killing committed with malice or a hardness of heart, cruelty or a recklessness of consequences and an extreme indifference to the value of human life.
“There is a risk that she’ll commit a new crime, if not incarcerated, in the future,” Judge William R. Carpenter said as he imposed the sentence.
Before learning her fate, Barnes apologized for her conduct.
“My behavior was reckless and inconsiderate. Dakari did not deserve to lose his life. He was a friend. I never meant for this to occur. I made an irrational decision. It was selfish,” Barnes, who appeared to choke back tears at times, told the judge. “I’m regretful and sincere in my apology.”
Assistant District Attorney Gabrielle C. Hughes and co-prosecutor Robert Joseph Waeltz Jr. sought a sentence of 12 to 25 years in prison for Barnes, pointing out Barnes took possession of a loaded gun despite the fact her age prohibited her from handling a gun and negligently waved that gun around in a car occupied by several other teenagers and adults.
“The defendant’s actions seriously injured one young man and took the life of another. “It’s her finger that pulled the trigger,” Hughes argued to the judge.
While Barnes “did not necessarily intend to kill her victim, she chose to handle a loaded, deadly weapon in an extremely reckless manner,” Hughes and Waeltz wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
Prosecutors added Barnes fled the scene and remained on the lam for more than a month until she was apprehended by the U.S. Marshals Service, “while Rome’s family waited for justice.”
“News of a shooting like this rattles any community, especially a small borough like Pottstown,” Hughes argued. “The defendant’s actions have resulted in significant and enduring damage to Rome’s family and friends.”
According to testimony, Rome’s mother, in a victim impact statement provided to the judge, described the depression, failed physical health and agony the family suffered since Rome’s murder.
While Barnes claimed she is trying to better herself, her time in jail has not been without issue, according to prosecutors, who explained that during her incarceration while awaiting court action, Barnes, who had previous juvenile offenses, was involved in at least three misconducts at the jail.
Barnes’ conduct while in jail is further evidence “that she remains a risk to reoffend and has not taken full responsibility for her actions,” Hughes and Waeltz argued.
Defense lawyer James P. Lyons, who handled the case with co-defense lawyer Karen R. Thek, sought a sentence of 8 to 16 years in prison for Barnes, pointing out she had a dysfunctional childhood during which she suffered neglect and lived on the street and was exposed to violence, including the murders of two siblings.
“That’s a tough way to grow up,” Lyons told the judge.
Lyons maintained the gun that Barnes possessed discharged when another occupant of the vehicle tried to grab the gun out of her hands.
“This was not an intentional pulling of the trigger. This was not an intentional shooting,” Lyons argued, adding Barnes is working to turn her life around, including taking educational courses while incarcerated. “She has a great deal of potential. She’s doing everything in her power to change who she was.”
The judge said Barnes’ troubled childhood is not an excuse for her “reckless criminal activity,” adding she never should have handled the gun, due to her age and her prior juvenile record.
By pleading guilty to third-degree murder, Barnes avoided a potential conviction at trial of second-degree murder, which could have carried a sentence of up to life in prison. Second-degree murder is a killing committed during the course of another felony such as robbery.
Kahseem Williams, 19, of Philadelphia, also was charged in connection with the incident. Authorities alleged that after Rome was shot, Barnes handed the gun to Williams, who got out of the vehicle and then used the weapon to fire several shots at the 17-year-old boy as he ran away from the vehicle.
In July 2023, Williams pleaded guilty to charges of third-degree murder and attempted murder in connection with his role and 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 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 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. 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 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 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.
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.
