The Erie Police Department and the Erie County District Attorney’s Office are announcing the arrest of two individuals in connection with the December 5th, 2020, murder of 13-year-old Kasir Gambill that happened in the area of East 20th Street and Franklin Avenue in Erie.
Charged in this Homicide are:
James Garcia, who is currently 17 years old, was 15 years old at the time of the homicide; DeAngelo Troop Jr., who is currently 16 years old, was also 15 years old at the time of the homicide.
Both Charged With:
Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Homicide;
Criminal Homicide;
Aggravated Assault; and Recklessly Endangering Another Person;
Other related charges
Both are charged under the Fisher Bill. Garcia will be incarcerated at the Edmund L. Thomas juvenile detention facility, while Troop is already incarcerated at the Erie County Prison on an Interest of Justice order.
This was an exhaustive investigation that spanned over the course of the past year and a half. Major Crime Detectives Detective Sgt Matt Berarducci and Detective Ira Bush worked closely with the Erie County District Attorney’s office in investigating this case.
This case shocked the City’s residents as the victim was only 13 years old. A video shows that the thirteen-year-old victim was followed by the two 15-year-olds, who exited the vehicle they were driving and then shot the victim as he was running away.
This murder is just one of many acts of violence involving the youth of the City of Erie, of which, there has been a significant increase over the past few years. Just last month police responded to a reported shooting on Buffalo Road and the investigation led to the arrest of 7 individuals who all possessed and fired handguns. 6 of the seven were teenage, 4 were juveniles.
The City of Erie Police and The Erie County District Attorney’s office are dedicated to stopping violence in the City of Erie. The recent hiring of additional officers by the Erie Police Department to reinstate our juvenile unit will help prevent these senseless crimes that effect our community and our sense of safety.
We send our deepest condolences to the Gambill family and hope that these arrests can help bring some closure to this needless tragedy.
