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NORRISTOWN – Days before a shooting on a Norristown street left an innocent man dead, the two men who allegedly fired the shots at each other expressed their hatred for each other and waving guns in social media posts, according to the story. test presentation.
Threatening and abusive Instagram posts linked to Edwin “Bam” Islas-Cruz and Joshua M. “Drill” Agudio Jr. prosecutors showed on a big screen in a Montgomery County courtroom where men face murder charges related to the 5:21 p.m. Sept. 18, 2021, shooting in the block 600 of Astor Street killed 51-year-old Barry Fields, who was not involved in the shooting, and was caught in the crossfire while sitting on the steps. of his home.
The testimony revealed that Agudio and friends of Islas-Cruz had been accused a few weeks earlier in an illegal gun case and that Agudio was angry because he believed that friends of Islas-Cruz “told to me.”
“He called people ‘rats,'” County Detective William Mitchell Jr. testified. on Sunday, referring to Agudio’s social media posts.
Islas-Cruz’s anger stemmed from Agudio calling his friends “rats,” according to testimony.
A review of social media posts also revealed that Agudio tried to arrange a sexual encounter with a woman just minutes after the fatal shooting, prosecutors said, adding that he was not involved in what happened.
Islas-Cruz, 24, of the 100 block of West Fornance Street, and Agudio, 21, of the 1000 block of Forest Avenue, testified that there was no outward reaction as the disturbing social media posts were presented to the judge. without telling them. was led into the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies.
Islas-Cruz and Agudio are charged with first and third degree murder in Fields’ death.
A conviction for first degree murder, which is premeditated murder, carries a sentence of life imprisonment. A conviction for third-degree murder, which is murder committed with malice, carries a maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.
In response to the charges, prosecutors said the men involved in the shooting were involved in a crime spree and attempted to kill at the time.
The men were charged with murder under a legal concept called “consensus,” which is used by prosecutors when a defendant claims to have killed one person but accidentally killed them. the second person. Under federal law, the will is transferred from the victim to the victim.
During the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Samantha Cauffman and prosecutor Gwendolyn Kull said the “swing” between Agudio and Islas-Cruz and Islas-Cruz’s friends continued. shooting violence is a result of that anger.
Cauffman allegedly fired three guns and a total of 39 bullets fired during the shooting that hit Islas-Cruz, his brother, Giovanni Islas, of the same block of West Basin Street, and Agudio . Authorities are still looking for Giovanni Islas for his alleged role in the incident. Islas was 16 years old at the time of the alleged shooting, and was charged as an adult with a serious crime.
Prosecutors said the shot that killed Fields came from a weapon fired from Agudio’s position on the street. That weapon was never recovered because Agudio threw it away after the shooting, prosecutors said.
But defense attorney Brendan Michael Campbell, who represented Agudio, argued that Agudio was acting in self-defense when Islas-Cruz pushed him and Islas, who was riding on the block on the A black Toyota Camry saw Agudio driving down the block. Campbell said Agudio was the victim of an “ambush” and deserved to be shot.
Testimony showed that investigators were unable to determine who fired the first shot.
Attorney Todd R. Fiore, who represents Islas-Cruz, said prosecutors did not present enough evidence to show that Islas-Cruz was one of the people who arrived in the Toyota Camry or was involved. to shoot. Fiore argued that there was a lot of confusion in the case.
The investigation began at 5:21 p.m. Sept. 18 when Norristown police were dispatched to the 600 block of Astor Street after a 911 caller reported hearing about 20 gunshots. . Responding officers found Fields dead, lying on the sidewalk in front of his home, according to the criminal complaint filed by Mitchel and Norristown Detective Joshua Keenan.
Witnesses, video surveillance and physical evidence determined that two men, Islas-Cruz and Islas, drove up the block in a Toyota Camry, got out of the vehicle, and began shooting. at the shots north on Astor Street, where a group of men, including Agudio, were gathered. , according to court papers.
Two of the people who lived in the area, identified as Agudio and Brandon Dontay Darden, 26, of the 300 block of Center Avenue, Norristown, returned fire, authorities said at first in in court documents.
In court papers filed in June, prosecutors said during the shooting Darden hid behind a car but re-entered the gun battle when the shooting ended. .
Darden pleaded earlier this year to a felony charge of criminal possession of a firearm in connection with the incident and was sentenced to 5 to 10 years in prison as part of the plea deal. plead. At the time, prosecutors explained that Darden’s guilty plea was evidence that he lived in the area and had a gun with him. Charges of first and third degree murder against Darden were dismissed.
After the gunfire broke out, Islas-Cruz and Islas got back into a black Camry and drove away, according to court papers. The investigation determined that Islas-Cruz was driving a borrowed Toyota Camry at the time of the shooting.
During Fields’ autopsy, the pathologist found a single puncture wound to the left side of the eye, which entered the left cheek and hit the brain stem, according to court papers. The doctor brought in an autopsy and ruled the cause of death a single gunshot wound to the head and a homicide.
The trial before Judge William R. Carpenter is expected to last a week.
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