Woman charged as an accomplice to murder in Loyalsock Township shooting
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With a portable metal detector and a heavy security presence, the first of two preliminary hearings in the shooting death of 15-year-old Ahmeen Palmer got underway Wednesday morning as District Judge Gary Whiteman bound over all charges against Johneice Francin Legare, mother of the alleged shooter, who allegedly drove the boy to and from the crime scene.
The shooting took place in the parking lot of TGI Fridays in Loyalsock Township shortly at approximately 6:30 p.m. on March 2.
New details were brought to light during the hearing for Legare, 42, of Williamsport, including the fact that she faces 10 charges, the majority of which remain sealed from the public.
However, it was learned at the hearing that she has been charged as an accomplice to murder in the first degree, as well as hindering the apprehension or prosecution of a suspect and criminal use of a communication facility.
The incident that allegedly incited the shooting happened two weeks prior when an associate of the alleged shooter, named in court as Ja'hsir Legare, was slapped by Palmer, according to testimony from state Trooper Brian Siebert.
The shooting took place after two separate groups arrived at the restaurant roughly an hour apart to celebrate the birthday of their respective friends, according to Lycoming County District Attorney Tom Marino.
The group including the shooter had intended to celebrate elsewhere, but had settled on TGI Fridays after two other restaurants were deemed too busy, Siebert testified.
The first group, which included the associate of the alleged 17-year-old shooter, entered the restaurant around 5:15 p.m., with the victim and his group arriving at approximately 6:08 p.m. Just six minutes later, the juvenile placed a call to the alleged shooter, testified Siebert, an expert in cell phone network communication.
Ja'hsir then placed a three-minute call to a family friend, who redirected an Uber ride from his residence at Randall Circle to TGI Fridays, Siebert said, based on an interview with the driver.
This friend is the one who provided the firearm to the shooter, Marino alleged in court.
Based on cell phone data and home security video from within her residence, Legare then received a call from the youth and told him, "I’m on my way there," after which she is shown on surveillance video provided by the Lycoming Housing Authority getting into her silver Hyundai and leaving.
At 6:21 p.m., Legare placed a call to Ja'hsir, and the two arrived at TGI Fridays five minutes later, followed a short time later by the family friend, who proceeded to enter the vehicle.
Inside the restaurant, an associate and another juvenile, who was under the care of Legare at the time, approached the table of the victim and challenged him to a fight outside, Siebert said.
Once the two groups were outside, Legare, Ja'hsir and the family friend exited the vehicle, and approached them.
"You’re going to fight my son one-on-one," Legare allegedly said to Palmer, just before he was shot once in each leg and once in the back of the head, with an additional two bullets striking nearby vehicles, Siebert testified.
The murder weapon’s whereabouts are unknown.
Video surveillance then captures Legare’s Hyundai traveling at a high rate of speed along Tinsman Avenue and pulling up to her home on Randall Circle.
"I don’t care. Grab whatever you can. Let’s go. (Expletive) the clothes. Do not get no clothes. Go get in the car," Legare could be heard frantically screaming on her home surveillance camera, the audio of which was played in the courtroom.
Cell phone data showed their next moves as they traveled along Interstate 180 East after they picked up the juvenile under her guardianship. After entering Interstate 476 East, the alleged shooter’s phone was turned off. Its whereabouts have not been determined, Siebert testified.
At 10:53 p.m., the phones of the remaining occupants pinged near Philadelphia before also being turned off.
Ja'hsir Legare remains at large at this time.
Defense attorney Jeremy-Evan Alva stressed that, while admissible for the purposes of a preliminary hearing, much of the prosecution’s case was built on hearsay of witnesses that could not be directly cross examined, as they were not present for today’s proceedings.
Legare had no knowledge as to the intentions of the alleged shooter, Alva said, citing a lack of evidence that any conversation had taken place that would have made her aware of the possibility that anything other than a physical fight would take place, Alva argued.
Citing testimony given by Siebert, no witnesses could say where the alleged gunman pulled the firearm from, meaning it was likely Legare was unaware of its presence, Alva said.
Alva also took issue with the naming of the family friend as the one who provided the murder weapon, stating that he should be defending that person in court rather than Legare, characterizing Legare as a "frightful mother" fleeing because her son had just committed murder.
However, Marino stressed that Legare driving the alleged shooter to the restaurant set off the chain of events leading to Palmer’s death, stating that she did so in order to get revenge for her son being slapped two weeks earlier.
The detailed cell phone records were as good as eyewitness testimony, Marino said.
"If the mother had not picked up the shooter and driven him to that location, no shooting takes place," the DA said.
"She knew what was going on. Otherwise, why take off if there was only going to be a one-on-one fight?" Marino asked. "Because somebody got slapped? No, because somebody got killed."
"This wasn’t a one-on-one. This was a two-on-one -- the shooter (and) the gun, and the mother who took them there," Marino said.
All charges facing the suspect accused of providing the firearm to Ja'hsir were dropped following a second preliminary hearing later in the day.
Marino stated that the timeline of the phone calls made and the way the events unfolded built a strong case that the suspect had provided the weapon.
"The shooting would not have taken place had the suspect not brought the gun to the restaurant," Marino said.
However, the suspect’s defense attorney Kyle Rude stressed that there was no evidence as to who provided the gun.
"There is no indication that my client was in possession of a weapon," Rude argued.
"The prosecution’s case is based on a three minute conversation of which there is no evidence as to the substance," Rude said.
"For all we know, the conversation was about the new location for the party," the defense attorney said.
Whiteman agreed, ruling that the Commonwealth had not met the low burden of prima facie, required at the preliminary hearing stage.
There are no plans to refile the charges unless new evidence comes to light, Marino told media outlets following the hearing.
"The judge did what he was supposed to do in weighing the evidence presented," Marino said.
No trial date has been set for Legare at this time.