<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2z4TkB_0wAxbVnM00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2z4TkB_0wAxbVnM00" width="814" height="612" ><figcaption>Katherine Emel is escorted by a deputy sheriff from a Montgomery County courtroom on Oct. 17, 2024 to begin prison term for role in deadly robbery. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)</figcaption></figure>NORRISTOWN — After relatives of a Norristown robbery and murder victim unleashed their anger at her, the ex-girlfriend of the man fatally shot during the incident learned she’ll spend at least six years in prison for helping to set up the robbery and providing information to the robbers about the victim’s whereabouts on the night he was killed.Katherine “Kay” Lynn Emel, 31, of the unit block of Richardson Street, Plymouth Township, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Thursday to 6 to 15 years in the State Correctional Institution at Muncy on charges of third-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery in connection with the Jan. 20, 2024, fatal shooting of William Carter, her ex-boyfriend, in the unit block of West Wood Street in Norristown.“This would not have happened without her. She received proceeds of the robbery after the fact,” Judge William R. Carpenter said as he imposed Emel’s sentence.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=43gLpu_0wAxbVnM00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=43gLpu_0wAxbVnM00" width="828" height="532" ><figcaption>Sheriff’s deputies escort Katherine Emel to her sentencing hearing in Montgomery County Court on Oct. 17, 2024. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. / MediaNews Group)</figcaption></figure>Several relatives of Carter asked the judge to impose “the maximum” possible sentence against Emel and they were noticeably disappointed in the sentence. But the judge explained he considered that Emel cooperated with prosecutors and testified at the September trial of three of the men who were most culpable in the deadly robbery and who were convicted of homicide charges and face life prison terms.“It’s true she set it up. She did a lot of bad things. I’ve thought about these things,” Carpenter addressed Carter’s relatives, explaining that the maximum penalty was not on the table given the prosecution’s satisfaction with the level of Emel’s cooperation. “I can’t fix things. I wish I could. I can’t take away your grief.“We need people to cooperate in order to convict criminals,” Carpenter added.Third-degree murder is a killing committed with malice or cruelty, hardness of heart or recklessness of consequences and is punishable by a possible maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.By pleading guilty, Emel avoided the possibility of being convicted at trial of a more serious second-degree murder charge, which would have carried a mandatory life prison sentence. Second-degree murder is a killing that occurs during the course of another felony such as robbery.The only agreement Emel had with prosecutors was to testify truthfully against Damon Brantley Jr., Daquan Tyrone Allen and Jerry Lamar Butler three of the men who went to trial in September for carrying out the deadly robbery.Carter, 35, of Norristown, suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head during the attack.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3HzGJx_0wAxbVnM00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3HzGJx_0wAxbVnM00" width="824" height="1105" ><figcaption>William Carter (Photo courtesy the Carter family)</figcaption></figure>During the trial, Emel testified that she was upset because she believed Carter, with whom she had broken up, stopped paying part of her rent in November 2023 even though he continued to live with her. Emel testified she confided in Allen, from whom she regularly purchased ecstasy, about her financial predicament and informed Allen that Carter had recently won several thousand dollars while gambling.Emel testified that when Allen suggested he could rob Carter, she didn’t object to the plan and even provided Allen information about Carter’s whereabouts on the night he was killed.Assistant District Attorney Meghan Bernadette Carney explained Emel’s cooperation and testimony was crucial in convicting those most culpable for the murder.“It assisted in three guilty verdicts for three individuals who were directly responsible for William Carter’s death. It doesn’t negate that she played a role in this,” said Carney, pointing out Emel provided information about how the plan to rob Carter was put into motion and its connection to Allen. “That’s something that we felt the jury needed to hear to fully understand the case. Sometimes you do need to work with some of the other players to get these major players.”Defense lawyer John Francis McCaul argued for a minimum sentence of between five and seven years in prison for Emel, who apologized for her conduct before learning her fate.“Miss Emel did take responsibility and that is a major step in the rehabilitative process. She was a very important factor in completing the story of what was a senseless murder,” argued McCaul, adding Emel never expected Carter would be killed. “She is very sorry for how this ended up.“I think Judge Carpenter is correct in that we need cooperators in the criminal system to convict those who are more culpable, and that’s exactly what Miss Emel was. She took responsibility for herself at a very early phase, was at the prosecution’s beck and call, testified to the best of her ability…and she was able to show remorse,” McCaul added. “She’s done everything she could possibly do to earn a second chance. I think the sentence is fair given the circumstances and her role in helping convict those who had the most blood on their hands.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3dJwvp_0wAxbVnM00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3dJwvp_0wAxbVnM00" width="807" height="788" ><figcaption>Katherine Emel is escorted to her sentencing hearing in Montgomery County Court on Oct. 17, 2024. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. / MediaNews Group)</figcaption></figure>A jury convicted Allen, 30, of the 500 block of Norris Street, Norristown, and Butler, 29, of the 500 block of East Clarkson Avenue, Philadelphia, of charges of second-degree murder and robbery and they were sentenced to mandatory life prison terms.Brantley, 18, who was the trigger man, of the 1000 block of West Beech Street, Norristown, was convicted by the jury of charges of first-degree murder, robbery and weapons offenses. Brantley was 17 at the time of the robbery and killing but turned 18 seven days later and was charged as an adult.Because Brantley was 17 at the time of the fatal shooting he potentially faces a maximum sentence of 35 years to life in prison for the conviction of first-degree murder, which is an intentional killing, when he is formally sentenced in November.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1RQZQo_0wAxbVnM00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1RQZQo_0wAxbVnM00" width="1260" height="650" ><figcaption>Three men were convicted of homicide charges in connection with the Jan. 20, 2024, robbery and murder of William Carter in Norristown. They are, from left: Daquan Allen, 30, and Damon Brantley Jr., 18, both of Norristown and Jerry Butler, 29, of Philadelphia. (Photo courtesy of Norristown Police)</figcaption></figure>During the trial, Carney and co-prosecutor Anne O’Connell argued the trio had a plan to rob Carter and each played a role in the crime, adding the men ambushed Carter and left him to die on the cold sidewalk. Carney and O’Connell argued Allen was “the brains” behind the plan and the getaway driver, that Butler was “the muscle” during the robbery and that Brantley “brought the gun.”A fourth male who took part in the strong-arm robbery, Justin Lyaire Davis, 17, of the 300 block of East Brown Street, Norristown, was decertified to juvenile court this week on charges of third-degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery, adjudicated delinquent on those charges and committed to a secure juvenile detention facility until he reaches age 21.Davis, who was 16 at the time of the incident but has since turned 17, also pleaded guilty in adult court to a felony charge of robbery and was sentenced to five years of probation to be served after he’s released from the juvenile facility at 21 years of age, according to his limited agreement with prosecutors which also required him to testify against Brantley, Butler and Allen.During emotional statements, relatives of Carter glared at Emel as they expressed their anger and hatred for her, calling her “pure evil.”“You’re literally a psycho. You never gave a (expletive) about him,” Tiara James, the mother of William Carter’s daughter, addressed Emel in court. “William was so excited to have a daughter. It’s unfair that my daughter has to go the rest of her life without having memories. I have to take her to a cemetery, show her pictures of him.”“You are the devil. You’re a despicable person. You had my brother set up and killed,” Carter’s sister, Cerrissa, tearfully addressed Emel.O’Connell said the Carter family’s sadness was palpable in the courtroom.“The family suffered a really big loss because of the actions of Katherine Emel and the four other individuals that were involved in this. William Carter was a brother, a father, a friend and he was well loved by his family,” O’Connell said.The investigation began about 7:53 p.m. Jan. 20 when Norristown police responded to the report of shots fired at West Wood and Powell streets. Arriving officers found Carter dead on the sidewalk on the west side of West Wood Street, according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective John Wittenberger and Norristown Detective Stephen Sowell.Carter suffered a gunshot wound to the head and authorities determined the fatal shooting occurred at 7:49 p.m. Investigators determined Carter possessed only a set of keys but no money and no cellphone.The investigation determined Carter, who was unarmed, had left a nearby residence to get some money out of a white Buick LeSabre.Detectives said they obtained video surveillance footage that depicted Carter leave the Buick, and as he crossed the street, three males, Brantley, Butler and Davis, exited a gray Toyota RAV-4 and ambushed and robbed Carter.Allen waited in the driver’s seat of the Toyota, according to testimony.After the three suspects robbed Carter, one of the assailants, Brantley, pointed a firearm at Carter and fired three rounds from a distance of about three-feet, and one of the rounds struck Carter in the head.“The succession of the three gunshots was so fast that detectives believed the firearm had an illegal ‘switch’ installed, enabling the firearm to operate in automatic fashion,” Wittenberger and Sowell wrote in court papers. “In addition, it is obvious this firearm is equipped with an extended magazine.”Investigators found three 9mm fired cartridge casings at the scene.After Brantley, Butler and Davis got into the RAV-4, Allen, the driver, then fled the area.Detectives used surveillance footage to develop photographs of the suspects which were released to the media and helped lead to the identification and apprehension of the suspects.On Jan. 21, authorities discovered the RAV-4 getaway vehicle was set ablaze with an accelerant and destroyed by fire and authorities alleged Brantley is responsible for torching the vehicle. Photographs of Brantley, taken shortly after his arrest, depicted him to have burns on his face and ears and singed eyebrows.Detectives subsequently determined the Buick vehicle that Carter was driving on the night he was killed belonged to Emel, who had placed a GPS tracking device in the vehicle’s trunk, according to the arrest affidavit.An analysis of cellphone records, interviews of witnesses and through other investigative techniques detectives learned that Emel had communicated with Allen multiple times before Carter’s robbery and murder, telling Allen that Carter had recently won $5,000 gambling, according to court documents.Following the murder, video surveillance from a business on North Broad Street in Philadelphia, depicted Emel and Allen meeting between 9:31 and 9:48 p.m., where Allen gave $700 to Emel, according to the arrest affidavit.Allen, Butler and Brantley, who face a joint jury trial Sept. 3, were extradited to Montgomery County from Endicott, N.Y., where they were apprehended by the U.S. Marshals Service several days after the murder.</div></body>

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Ex-girlfriend of Norristown robbery, murder victim sent to prison for helping to ‘set up’ the crime

NORRISTOWN — After relatives of a Norristown robbery and murder victim unleashed their anger at her, the ex-girlfriend of the man fatally shot during the incident learned she’ll spend at least six years in prison for helping to set up the robbery and providing information to the robbers about the victim’s whereabouts on the night he was killed.