Police: 3 Men Arrested In Connection To Murder Of 19-Year-Old Layth Evans In Ardmore
ARDMORE, Pa. (CBS) -- Montgomery County detectives and Lower Merion Township police made three quick arrests in connection to the homicide of a man found shot in the face in Ardmore Saturday afternoon. Investigators revealed the shooting stemmed from the attempted sale of an illegal gun.
Micah Colbert, 19, of Ardmore and Elijah Smith, 21, of Philadelphia, are charged in the murder and robbery of Layth Evans, 19, of Philadelphia. Dorian Harris, 21, of Ardmore, faces firearms charges. All three were arraigned Sunday evening.
Just after 3 p.m. Saturday, officers discovered Evans' body in the driver's seat of his car outside the Ardmore Avenue Community Center.
Investigators said surveillance video, eyewitness accounts, texts messages and phone records quickly led them to develop the three suspects.
Lower Merion Police said Colbert and Smith arranged to purchase a "ghost gun" from Evans and the meeting ended with Colbert shooting Evans in the face with a Glock and taking the untraceable gun.
"He was my son's best friend," Bonnie Diehl said, referring to Colbert.
Diehl was stunned to hear that Colbert was arrested for the violent crime that happened just steps from her apartment.
"I used to take him to concerts with my son, like everything, and I just never expected," she said. "He graduated not this past year, but the year before that, and I never expected, never, ever, could have imagined this kid could have did that."
Harris, the third man arrested, is charged with unlawful transfer of a firearm.
Investigators said Harris was Colbert's roommate and though Harris wasn't present at the shooting, Colbert used his gun to shoot Evans.
Harris maintained his innocence as investigators escorted him into district court Sunday.
"I didn't plan for it to go like this," Harris said to Eyewitness News. "I'm innocent. R.I.P Layth Evans. I didn't want it to go like this."
Colbert and Smith are being held without bail at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.
Harris is being held on $100,000 bail. All three are set to appear in court on July 20th.
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