Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Norristown Acting Police Chief James Angelucci announced today the arrest of Norristown resident Kaleem Roland, who turns 16 tomorrow, on First-Degree Murder charges related to the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Tahaj Harrison close to his residence on Corson Street in Norristown.
An arrest warrant was also issued for 17-year-old Naseem Worrell, of Norristown, on First-Degree Murder charges. The DA is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to Worrell’s arrest.
According to the report, the murder happened at 9:43pm on May 23. Norristown police received a ShotSpotter notification of multiple gunshots fired in the area of 600 block of Corson Street. Police arrived to find Harrison deceased in the rear yard of his residence, a few houses from the shooting, where he had staggered to before collapsing. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, the DA said.
A joint homicide investigation by Montgomery County Detectives and Norristown Police located video surveillance from the 600 block of Corson Street, which showed the three males walking on Corson Street and firing shots at the victim, who was standing before his residence. The three males then ran from the scene.
Six fired cartridge casings and two live rounds of 9mm ammunition as well as the victim’s cellphone were found by detectives. Ballistic testing found that the fired cartridge casings came from three different firearms.
The investigation found that Harrison’s murder was targeted and related to ongoing violence between two feuding factions: the Grimy Boys/6’s, to which the victim belonged, and the rival group All Black Bandits/300s, to which Worrell belonged. Detectives recovered Instagram messages from four hours before the murder between the victim and Worrell concerning the ongoing feud and recent killings/violence between the two groups, as well as an Instagram post by the victim that Worrell thought was disrespectful regarding a recent killing of one of his group’s members. The feuding factions are well known to law enforcement, the DA said.
The investigation found that Roland, Worrell and a third male shooter fled from the murder scene to a residence in the unit block of Oak Street, then at another residence in Norristown, before travelling by an Uber to a location in Delaware County.
Roland was arrested today without incident and charged with First-Degree Murder, Third-Degree Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, Firearms Not to be Possessed by a Minor and Possession of a Firearm Without a License. He was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Maureen Gallagher. No bail is available for First-Degree Murder charges, and he was remanded to the Montgomery County Youth Detention Center. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11:30am on Friday, June 13.
A warrant has been issued for Worrell, who stands 5’10” tall, weighs 150 pounds and should be considered armed and dangerous, according to the DA. Anyone who sees him should not approach and should call 911. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information about his whereabouts that leads to his arrest.
Police are still looking to identify the third shooter. Anyone with information about the third suspect, the incident or Worrell’s whereabouts should call Montgomery County Detectives at 610-278-3386 or Norristown Police at 610-270-0977.
Photo: Montco DA