The three men who are accused of orchestrating a July 2014 Bristol Township robbery that ended with two men dead and a third suffering two gunshot wounds allegedly made off with $170,000 in cash and several pounds of marijuana.
During testimony for 26-year-old Eric Dillard Jr.’s preliminary hearing on homicide and related offenses, Kyle Stallworth, who spent time at State Correctional Institution Graterford with Dillard, said the amount of cash and drugs taken was revealed during 2014 prison talks. He said Dillard made the claims while the two spent time together inside the Montgomery County state prison.
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The prosecution did not confirm the amount of stolen cash during the preliminary hearing that began late after court-appointed defense attorneys Craig Penglase and Keith Williams successfully requested from District Judge Joanne Kline that they have more time to review documents.
The defense counsel and Assistant Deputy District Attorney Michelle Henry confirmed prosecutors could go for the death penalty against Dillard in the case. Henry said a decision by the district attorney’s office would have to be made by the time of Dillard formal arraignment in Doylestown.
Dillard is the third suspect identified and the second charged in connection with a Bristol Township triple shooting that left Joshua Johnson, 29, and Tyrone Moss, 31, dead in July 8, 2014 after the robbery-turned-shooting at 913 Winder Drive. Suspect Demetrius Baker, 29, of Philadelphia, was charged in January with the homicide and the third suspect, Anthony King, was fatally shot while driving in Philadelphia a few weeks after the murder.
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Stallworth also testified that Dillard told him the three suspects identified themselves by number (one, two and three) and also masks and guns.
In addition to testimony from Stallworth, Bucks County Detective David Hanks spoke in court about interviews from the robbery-turned-shooting’s lone survivor, Lamel Duffy. The longtime lawman said Duffy indicated that it “may have been common knowledge that drug dealing was happening at the house.”
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According to court papers, Duffy was playing video games with Moss and wheelchair-bound Johnson in the living room when three masked men burst in around 12:30 a.m. Johnson was pulled from his wheelchair and Duffy was forced to the ground. The suspects tied the three mens’ hands with zip ties. At the end of the robbery, one of the suspects walked in and stated, “it’s flat line time.” The three men were then shot by the suspects, but Duffy escaped and alerted a neighbor. Inside 913 Winder Drive, Moss and Johnson lay suffering from their fatal wounds. Moss was pronounced dead by the time medics arrived and Johnson, known as “Gang” by his friends, died a few days after the shooting.
Before Dillard’s preliminary hearing, Baker waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges including homicide, conspiracy and robbery. He is represented by Philadelphia-based defense attorney Todd Edward Henry.
Dillard and Baker remain in custody without bail.
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Both men are set to have a formal arraignment in their cases on June 17 at the Bucks County Justice Center in Doylestown.
