Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
A Bensalem Township teenager is being held after cops allege he fired the shot that killed a man last year in Falls Township.
William Mathell Hunter, 16, was arraigned Wednesday on charges of voluntary manslaughter, conspiracy to commit voluntary manslaughter, robbery, possession of a firearm, conspiracy to commit robbery, and related offenses. District Judge Jan Vislosky set bail at 10 percent of $5 million bail.
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LevittownNow.com does not usually name minors charged with crimes, but Hunter was charged as an adult.
Hunter fired the shot that struck and killed 18-year-old Yusuf McNeal, of Philadelphia, on the night of December 1, 2020. Shot in the chest, McNeal died after being taken from the shooting scene at the Commons at Fallsington off Makefield Road in Falls Township’s Morrisville section to Lower Bucks Hospital in Bristol Township in a personal vehicle, police said.
Three other teens – boys ages 15, 16, and 17 – were also shot but all survived after being taken by a personal vehicle to Jefferson Bucks Hospital.
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According to court papers, Hunter was with four other teen boys who arranged a meeting to sell stolen guns to McNeal and another man. The groups agreed to meet at the Commons at Fallsington and exchange $1,000 for the two guns. The group of teens had planned to rip off the two by handing them a backpack with bricks to imitate the weight of guns, police said.
“They would then take they money and flee before the buyer realized the bag did not contain firearms,” detectives wrote in court papers.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
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The shooting around 9:30 p.m. occurred during a dispute over money and shots were fired by multiple people, but Hunter’s .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun gun ultimately discharged the fatal shot, police said. They added that Hunter purchased the gun illegally and was not authorized to carry it.
The shooting by the H building was captured on nearby surveillance video, police said.
Shortly after the incident, police received calls about a shooting at the Commons at Fallsington. They also learned shooting victims has been dropped off at Jefferson Bucks Hospital and Lower Bucks Hospital. A shot up Nissan used to travel to the Commons at Fallsington was found with bullet damage in the parking lot of the Alexandria Apartments on Plaza Boulevard.
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Hunter waived his right to a preliminary hearing, according to a court docket.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
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