Felony murder and robbery charges were waived for Bucks County Common Pleas Court at a Wednesday arraignment for a Philadelphia man accused of the fatal shooting and robbery of a Lower Providence Township man last month.
Jordan Antrim, 32, faces charges including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, third-degree murder, robbery, carrying a firearm without a license, and possessing an instrument of crime in the May 17 shooting near Austin's Beverage on Ridge Pike near Crosskeys Road.
Lower Providence Township Police received a 911 call from an eyewitness who reported seeing a male being shot four times, according to Steele and Jackson. After the victim collapsed to the ground, the shooter was seen rifling through the victim’s pockets, authorities allege. The responding officer immediately began performing CPR on the victim, later identified as Paul David Ley-Harris, 47.
Despite efforts to save him, Ley-Harris was pronounced dead at Einstein Hospital, authorities said.
The shooter, alleged to be Antrim, fled the scene on foot, but police quickly located Antrim just a few blocks away. He was apprehended without incident. Authorities allegedly found a Glock handgun in his waistband, which was registered to Antrim, though he did not have a permit to carry the weapon.
A subsequent investigation by Lower Providence Police and Montgomery County Detectives revealed that Ley-Harris and Antrim had been on a SEPTA bus together before the shooting. Antrim told detectives he was on the Route 93 SEPTA bus, leaving his grandmother's home in Pottstown and intending to get off in Norristown, per the complaint.
Surveillance footage from the bus allegedly showed the two men seated across from each other, with Ley-Harris visibly going through his wallet in full view of Antrim. During his interrogation, Antrim told detectives that Ley-Harris had "spittle between his lips" and stared at him, making him feel uneasy, according to the affidavit.
After the shooting, Ley-Harris was found without his wallet, which is believed to have been stolen, authorities said.
Detectives recovered three 9mm casings from the scene. Antrim had a black backpack with him at the time of his arrest, police said. He told detectives that he had forgotten items at his grandmother's and said he wanted to exit the bus to return to Pottstown.
"Antrim stated he exited the bus, lit a Newport cigarette, and claimed to remember nothing else until the police detained him," detectives wrote in the complaint.
An eyewitness told detectives he heard three to four gunshots as he exited his car at Austin's Beverage, and saw two men diagonally across the street from the beverage store, detectives said. The witness turned and saw Ley-Harris on the ground, with Antrim standing over him, putting the gun away in his backpack, police allege. Antrim then crossed Ridge Pike and walked between Weinstein Bath & Kitchen and B&M Auto Repair and Towing, detectives said.
An employee at Austin's Beverage told detectives he heard a gunshot and looked across the street, where he saw one man shoot another man, detectives said in the complaint. Then, he watched the shooter fire the gun three more times at the victim, detectives said.
An autopsy conducted by Dr. Ian Hood of the Montgomery County Coroner's Office confirmed that Ley-Harris died from multiple gunshot wounds, with the manner of death ruled a homicide.
Antrim is being held without bail at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. He is represented by public defender Joseph Schultz.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
