2 Maryland men admit roles in Montgomery County home invasion
Two Maryland men admitted their roles Monday in a violent home invasion that turned fatal for one of the invaders last year.
Two Maryland men admitted their roles Monday in a violent home invasion that turned fatal for one of the invaders last year.
A Montgomery County judge sentenced Niochie Lawson, 24, and Jakal Stone, 21, to 10 to 20 years in prison after both pleaded guilty to multiple counts of robbery, unlawful restraint, and possessing an instrument of crime in connection with the June 9, 2010, attack on an Upper Gwynedd home.
As sheriff's deputies removed Lawson from the courtroom after his sentencing, he laughed and said: "I do not like Montgomery County."
Prosecutors said Lawson, of Laurel, and Stone, of Hyattsville, were among a group of at least four men from the Washington area who targeted Jermaine Edwards, hoping to steal $150,000 they believed he had in his house.
The group lay in wait as Edwards drove his daughters home from visiting relatives in Philadelphia. When he arrived, they ushered him and the girls into their residence at gunpoint.
Inside, Edwards' wife - who had been alerted to the intrusion by the home alarm - hid a 9mm Glock handgun in her bathrobe and slipped it to her husband when he came in the door.
Gunfire erupted with Edwards firing off 10 or 11 shots, he would tell authorities - including one that killed one of Lawson's and Stone's accomplices, Kieme Persons, 22, of Capital Heights, Md.
Lawson and Stone fled and sought treatment at Albert Einstein Medical Center for their wounds. Edwards was also hit by return fire.
Montgomery County authorities have remained tight-lipped about how the Maryland men learned of the money they hoped to steal from Edwards.
District Attorney Risa Vetro Ferman said at the time that she could not discuss why the attackers landed at Edwards' doorstep, citing an ongoing investigation. She did not return e-mails Monday seeking more information.
Lawson's and Stone's attorneys also did not return calls for comment.
Edwards, who has a criminal history including convictions for drug dealing, was not charged in the incident.