Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
After a week of testimony, the 20-year-old Trenton, N.J. man prosecutors called the “mastermind” behind the December 2011 shooting death of Danny DeGennero was found guilty of second-degree murder, Philly.com reported.
Jermaine Jackson was found guilty after a jury of his peers deliberated for almost eight hours before reaching a verdict in the death of the beloved Levittown musician, according to a story on PhillyBurbs.com. He was also found guilty on several other charges.
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While Jackson did not pull the trigger, the prosecution alleged last week that he was pulling all the strings.
During the trial last week, prosecutors made the case that Jackson was the ringleader behind a group of thugs who planned to rob DeGennaro for a drug debt inside his Crabtree Drive home in Bristol Township. Kazair Gist, 19, and Breon Powell, 21, are alleged to have also been behind the shooting.
Danasia Bakr, 19, and Tatyana Henderson, 19, both of the Morrisville section of Falls Township, both testified Jackson was behind the slaying. The two, who are a couple, sat outside DeGennero’s house and acted as the getaway driver and lookout.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
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Henderson waited outside and heard one “loud gunshot” and then another, the 19-year-old testified. She added that the three young men then ran to the waiting car and were “shaken up” and “acting crazy.”
Powell was yelling how he shot “the guy” and Gist said, “I shot him too,” according to statements made by Henderson.
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Officials previously said DeGennaro was shot in the chest with a shotgun and discovered by his roommate, who was highly intoxicated.
Prosecutors used cell phone records obtained through investigation to outlined a minute-by-minute timeline of the night that murder happened.
During the trial, Jackson’s father sat in and decried outside to reporters that his son was innocent. The father helps organize anti-violence rallies in Trenton.
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Jackson will be sentenced late this week and is facing life behind bars.
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