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NORRISTOWN — Citing the possibility of a “mutually antagonistic relationship,” the lawyer representing a Philadelphia man awaiting a retrial for his alleged role in the gunshot slaying of a Lower Providence man on the Schuylkill River Trail in West Norriton wants to withdraw from the case.
Defense lawyer Dennis P. Caglia filed a court petition asking a Montgomery County judge for permission to withdraw from representing Marquise Alexander Johnson, explaining he made certain recommendations to Johnson “which appear to not have been considered” and that Johnson “may not have absolute confidence in his counsel.”
“Counsel asserts there is now a possibility that a mutually antagonistic relationship between defendant and petitioner may develop if representation continues. Such a relationship can lead to irreconcilable differences between defendant and petitioner,” Caglia wrote in the court papers.
It’s unclear if Judge William R. Carpenter will hold a hearing on Caglia’s request.
If Caglia is permitted to withdraw from the case, it’s likely that Johnson’s retrial, now slated to begin June 3, could be delayed so that another lawyer can become familiar with the case.
Johnson, 24, of the 500 block of East Johnson Street, Philadelphia, and Cody Kavon Reed, 24, of the 300 block of West Marshall Street, Norristown, are awaiting a retrial on charges of first-, second-, and third-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit murder and robbery in connection with the alleged 9 p.m. March 2, 2023, robbery and gunshot slaying of former Reading resident Daquan Tucker, 25, who resided along Rogers Road in Lower Providence at the time of his death.
The retrial was ordered after a jury in February was deadlocked at the original trial for the two men. After hearing testimony over four days and deliberating eight hours over two days, a jury of seven women and five men notified the judge that it was “hung and no further deliberations will help.” The jurors did not reveal the exact split.
Carpenter declared a mistrial and prosecutors vowed to retry Johnson and Reed.
Caglia was privately retained by Johnson as his lawyer.
Reed is represented by defense lawyer Brendan Michael Campbell, who was court-appointed.
Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Alane McLaughlin and co-prosecutor Caitlin Faith O’Malley are handling the case.
A conviction of first-degree murder, an intentional killing, or second-degree murder, a killing that occurs during the course of another felony such as robbery, carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. A conviction of third-degree murder, a killing committed with malice, carries a possible maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.
During the original trial, McLaughlin and O’Malley alleged Reed and Johnson had a plan to take Tucker to the popular recreational trail to “execute” him.
Even though there were no eyewitnesses to the killing and no gun was found and no one knows who fired the fatal shots, prosecutors argued circumstantial evidence pointed to Reed and Johnson as the killers. Reed and Johnson were charged with homicide under accomplice liability theories.
Prosecutors argued Tucker was robbed of his wallet and cellphone during the fatal encounter.
But Campbell argued that while all three men were hanging out together at some point that night there is no DNA, fingerprint or gun evidence to link Reed to Tucker’s death.
Caglia argued prosecutors didn’t have sufficient evidence that any agreement existed between Johnson and Reed and suggested Tucker lived “a dangerous life” and could have been targeted by someone else.
The investigation began about 9:03 a.m. March 3, 2023, when a citizen riding his bicycle along the Schuylkill River Trail on the border of Norristown and West Norriton called 911 to report seeing a body in a wooded area between the trail and the Schuylkill River, according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective John Wittenberger and West Norriton Detective Mark Wassmer.
Arriving officers found Tucker, “lying in the wooded area down a steep embankment, approximately 100 feet from the trail,” with apparent gunshot wounds. Detectives recovered two .40-caliber fired cartridge casings in close proximity to Tucker, court documents indicate.
Detectives testified the casings were fired from the same unknown firearm.
Testimony revealed a female friend of Tucker’s phoned a brother of Tucker in the early morning hours of March 3 out of concern that Tucker never arrived at the residence they shared as planned by 11 p.m. March 2 and that he was missing. The woman, who was dating Tucker, subsequently told detectives she believed a man named “Cody” sent an Uber to their residence for Tucker earlier and Tucker left in the Uber and hadn’t been seen since then, according to testimony.
Witnesses said when they checked Tucker’s location on the “Find My iPhone” feature it indicated his location was on the Schuylkill River Trail near Norristown between 8:57 p.m. and 9 p.m. March 2 in the exact location where his body eventually was found. A check of Tucker’s cellphone location at 10:06 p.m. on March 2 indicated it was in the area of the 1000 block of West Airy Street, authorities said.
Detectives obtained video surveillance footage that showed Tucker arriving at Reed’s residence a little after 7 p.m. March 2. Surveillance footage at 8:39 p.m. showed Reed, Tucker and Johnson, all of whom knew each other, walking toward the Schuylkill River Trail, according to court papers.
“The three then walked to a secluded area of the Schuylkill River Trail in West Norriton Township where Tucker was shot numerous times and killed and his property removed from him,” Wittenberger and Wassmer alleged in the arrest affidavit.
Video surveillance captured Reed and Johnson walking along West Airy Street at 10:06 p.m., the same place and time that witnesses previously told detectives the “Find My iPhone” feature located Tucker’s phone. Investigators alleged Reed and Johnson were in possession of Tucker’s cellphone after he had been shot and killed.
At 10:21 p.m., video surveillance depicted Reed and Johnson returning to Reed’s apartment on West Marshall Street, according to the arrest affidavit.
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