HARRISBURG, Pa. — Note: The video is from 2019.
A Franklin County man was convicted Thursday of three counts of homicide in connection to the murders of three people in 2016, U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam announced Friday.
Torey White, 32, was found guilty following a three-week trial before U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Connor, Karam said in a press release.
He was one of 14 people charged in connection to the deaths of three people on June 25, 2016, on a property along Welsh Run Road in Mercersburg, Franklin County, Karam said.
His conviction is the result of an investigation that lasted almost seven years.
According to evidence presented at trial, when Pennsylvania State Police officers were called to the crime scene, they found the bodies of Wendy Ann Chaney, 39, Hagerstown, Md, Brandon Cole, 47, Fayetteville, PA, and Phillip Matthew Jackson, 36, Mercersburg, PA, in a barn on Jackson’s property.
All three victims were shot, Karam said.
The three victims had their hands zipped-tied behind their backs and had been set on fire. Jackson and Cole were shot once in the head. Chaney was shot twice, once in the back and once in the neck.
Chaney and Cole were already dead when the police responded to the scene. Jackson was transported to York Hospital, where he died shortly after arrival.
The evidence presented at trial established that Chaney was in a relationship with White co-conspirator Kevin Coles, and had been previously assisting both with their drug distribution operations.
White and Coles learned that Chaney was cooperating with federal authorities and contracted for her to be murdered, according to Karam.
Co-defendants Jerell Adgebesan and Kenyatta Corbett recruited members of a Baltimore based gang known as the Black Guerilla Family and others from Baltimore to travel to the Jackson property to kill Chaney.
The killers were promised that they could take as payment $20,000 that was to be in a safe in the barn and any drugs and firearms that they could locate on the Jackson property, Karam said.
Once there, the killers encountered not only Chaney, but also Cole and Jackson. Chaney was killed to protect the drug trafficking activities of White, Coles, and their co-conspirators.
Jackson and Cole were murdered to prevent them from being witnesses to the crimes of violence that were committed at the Jackson property.
The killers never found any money on the property, but stole some drugs and firearms, Karam said.
The following individuals were charged along with White as a result of the investigation:
Kevin Coles, age 37, of New York and Hagerstown, Maryland: was sentenced to three consecutive terms of life imprisonment for multiple crimes, including murder for hire, robbery, and drug trafficking
Jerell Adgebesan, age 35, of Baltimore and Hagerstown, Maryland: pled guilty in June 2022 to Hobbs Act robbery and to being an accomplice to the use of a firearm during Hobbs Act robbery. Judge Conner sentenced Adgebesan in February 2023 to life imprisonment and a consecutive 10-year term of imprisonment
Mark Johnson, 35, Baltimore, Maryland: pled guilty to obstructing the grand jury’s investigation and was sentenced to 110 months’ imprisonment.
Terrance Lawson, age 31, Baltimore: sentenced to time served for attempting to intimidate a witness:
Tyrone Armstrong, age 30, Baltimore: sentenced to time served for attempting to intimidate a witness
Devin Dickerson, age 31, Hagerstown: pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and crack cocaine and is awaiting sentencing
Kenyatta Corbett, age 38, Hagerstown: pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and to being an accomplice to the use of a firearm during Hobbs Act robbery and is awaiting sentencing
Michael Buck, age 30, Hagerstown: pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and to being an accomplice to the use of a firearm during Hobbs Act robbery and is awaiting sentencing
Nicholas Preddy, age 29, Baltimore: pleaded guilty to attempting to kill a witness and is awaiting sentencing
Johnnie Jenkins-Armstrong, age 22, Baltimore: pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and to being an accomplice to the use of a firearm during Hobbs Act robbery and is awaiting sentencing
Christopher Johnson, age 31, Baltimore: pleaded guilty to multiple counts including murder for hire and is awaiting sentencing
Llesenia Woodard, 46, Hagerstown, Maryland: pled guilty to providing false testimony to the grand jury investigating the murders and is awaiting sentencing
Yolanda Diaz, 31, Hagerstown: was indicted on multiple counts of perjury and obstruction of justice based upon her testimony at the Coles trial. Her trial is currently scheduled for May 2023.
Joshua Davis, age 30, previously pled guilty to participating in the conspiracy to locate and kill an individual believed to be cooperating with federal authorities in the investigation of the triple murders. Davis was sentenced to serve 100 months’ imprisonment.
White faces three mandatory life sentences, one for each count of conviction. Each count dealt with a separate victim.