DA Will Seek Death Penalty For Triple-Homicide Defendant Andre Gordon Jr.

In handcuffs and shackles and surrounded by sheriff’s deputies and constables, the man who is accused of shooting and killing three people in Falls Township’s Levittown section last month returned to Bucks County on Tuesday afternoon.

Andre Gordon Jr., 26, who is homeless, did not fight his extradition on Wednesday in Mercer County court and was picked up by the Bucks County Sheriff’s Office. He was transported to the Middletown Township Police Department for processing.

Next, Gordon was driven to District Judge John Galloway’s courthouse on New Falls Road in Falls Township for his preliminary arraignment.

As he was brought into the courthouse before a group of journalists, Gordon said: “Pray to God. Pray to God. That’s all I have to say.”

Gordon came before Galloway, a longtime state lawmaker who only took the bench in January. The defendant, who was raised in Levittown, was read the 32 charges he faces in Bucks County, which include three counts of first-degree murder, three counts second-degree murder, two counts of burglary, and various other counts of unlawful restrain, aggravated assault, robbery, robbery of a vehicle, simple assault, terroristic threats, and reckless endangerment.

At first Gordon, who was not represented by an attorney, told the judge he didn’t understand his instructions, but he later affirmed he understood the charges against him.

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Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said the “evidence is so strong” in the case and there are witnesses. She noted, for the first time, that the prosecution plans to seek the death penalty against Gordon.

It is uncommon that a prosecutor would announce they plan to seek the death penalty at the preliminary arraignment, but the Schorn noted the case was so horrific. She added that her office will work on aggravating factors documents that will have to be filed to move forward with a capital case.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled for mid-April but that date could change, the district judge said.

The sequence of events leading to Gordon’s arrest began on the morning of Saturday, March 16, in Trenton.

According to authorities, Gordon allegedly carjacked a vehicle in the Donnelly Homes parking lot. He then reportedly drove to Falls Township’s Levittown section where he caused the two separate shootings before committing another carjacking and returning to Trenton. His arrest took place around 5 p.m. on New York Avenue after an intensive law enforcement operation.

Officials detailed that the shootings in Levittown were carried out using a long gun. The victims were Gordon’s stepmother, 52-year-old Karen Gordon, and his 13-year-old sister, Kera Gordon, who were both killed in their home on Viewpoint Lane. In another home on Edgewood Lane, 25-year-old Taylor Daniel, who is the mother of Gordon’s two children, was fatally shot. Additionally, Daniel’s mother suffered injuries after being assaulted with the butt of Gordon’s AR-15-style firearm.

The shootings shocked the community, and the case has gained international attention.

In New Jersey, Gordon is still facing charges of first-degree carjacking, second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, second-degree unlawful possession of an assault firearm, third-degree unlawful possession of a firearm without a serial number, third-degree receiving stolen property, fourth-degree unlawful possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines, and fourth-degree possession of hollow-point ammunition.

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