NORRISTOWN — A 19-year-old Philadelphia woman admitted that her reckless behavior with a firearm resulted in the gunshot slaying of a Pottstown man and the wounding of a borough teenager who was shot in the hand inside a vehicle during what prosecutors had alleged was a botched robbery attempt. Jahme Barnes wept in Montgomery County Court on Monday as she pleaded guilty to charges of third-degree murder, aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and person not to possess a firearm in connection the 10 p.m.
Aug. 28, 2022, shooting death of Dakari Rome, 25, of Pottstown, and the wounding of a 17-year-old male inside a vehicle at Grant Street and Union Alley. Barnes, who was 17 at the time of the shooting and charged as an adult because of the violent nature of the crime, pleaded guilty a day before jury selection was to begin for her trial.
Under a limited agreement, prosecutors informed the judge they will not seek more than 12 to 25 years in prison against Barnes. Judge William R. Carpenter will have sole discretion in fashioning the punishment after hearing arguments from prosecutors and Barnes’ defense team later this year.
Barnes declined to comment about the outcome of the case as sheriff’s deputies escorted her from the courtroom for the return trip to the county jail where she will remain without bail pending her sentencing hearing. Third-degree murder is a killing committed with malice or a hardness of heart, cruelty or a recklessness of consequences and a.
