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NORRISTOWN — A Philadelphia man is on his way to prison for his alleged role in the carjacking of a woman in Lower Merion Township.
Zyere Raymone Hamilton, 23, of the 500 block of North Gross Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 6 to 12 years in a state correctional facility after he entered a no contest plea to charges of robbery of a motor vehicle, robbery and conspiracy to engage in robbery with an unknown male in connection with the Aug. 22, 2022, incident near the Merion Train Station.
A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is an admission that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to prove the charges at a trial.
Judge Virgil B. Walker also ordered Hamilton to complete 10 years of probation, consecutive to parole, meaning Hamilton will be under court supervision for 22 years. The judge also ordered Hamilton to pay $5,250 in restitution to the victim.
An investigation began about 9:15 p.m. Aug. 22 when Lower Merion police responded to a report of a “gunpoint carjacking robbery” at the SEPTA Merion Train Station parking lot on Civic Circle in the township, according to the criminal complaint filed by Lower Merion Detective Gregory Pitchford.
A township woman told police that after she exited a train she walked to her Honda CRV vehicle on the parking lot when she heard a male’s voice say, “Don’t scream, give me the keys, give me the keys,” according to the criminal complaint.
“(The victim) said that she was pushed forward as if the actor was trying to push her inside her vehicle,” Pitchford alleged, adding the victim recalled that she pushed backward to avoid going into the car. “When (the victim) turned around she observed two actors both armed with handguns.”
The victim told police that one of the armed males grabbed her purse and she fell to the ground and the contents of the purse, including an envelope containing $1,000 cash, spilled onto the ground. At that time, the second male yelled “money money” while pointing a gun at her and picking up the cash, according to the criminal complaint.
The victim was able to get up and run from the parking lot. The woman ran to a nearby residence where she sought help and notified police. The woman’s vehicle was stolen during the incident.
Court documents indicate detectives used video footage from various cameras at the train station and in Philadelphia and cellphone analysis to identify Hamilton as a suspect in the carjacking.
On Aug. 24, police located the victim’s purse discarded along a township roadway and the currency was missing from the purse, according to court papers.
On Sept. 2, the woman’s stolen Honda CRV was found abandoned in an alley behind North 59th Street in Philadelphia. In court documents, authorities alleged camera footage depicted Hamilton walking in an area that was a short distance from where the Honda was recovered unoccupied.
Detectives alleged Hamilton’s height was consistent with the description provided by the carjacking victim of the two males who accosted her.
Court documents do not indicate if police ever identified the second male allegedly involved in the carjacking.
Other charges of receiving stolen property, firearms not to be carried without a license and terroristic threats were dismissed against Hamilton.
Assistant District Attorney Scott Frame handled the case. Defense lawyer Benjamin Cooper represented Hamilton.
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