Commonwealth v. Joshua Williams:  On Wednesday, January 14, 2015, Joshua Williams was convicted by a jury of one count of robbery, and was acquitted on attempted murder and firearms offenses.  Dauphin County Judge Deborah E. Curcillo sentenced Williams to a term of 7-14 years incarceration.

During the two-day trial, Michael Barna identified Williams as the person who shot him multiple times and stole both his wallet and car on March 4, 2012.  Barna testified that after driving off with his car, Williams turned around and fired several shots at him from inside of the vehicle.  He then stopped the car, got out and ran toward Barna, firing.  Barna was taken down by multiple shots to his leg, before Williams demanded his wallet.  Barna said he could hear bullets going by his head when Williams shot him in the back before driving away.  Police said they apprehended Williams hours later following a chase during which Williams crashed the stolen car.  Barna's wallet was in Williams' pants pocket, investigators said.  A bullet casing was found wedged in the back seat of the vehicle, which a firearms expert testified matched the casings found at the shooting scene.

Williams testified  that he was present when Barna was shot by another man during a drug deal that went bad at Elmerton Avenue and Cameron Street. He claimed he was acting as a middle man for that deal, panicked when the shooting began, and drove away in Barna's car.  He also admitted to lying to the police on several occasions and giving multiple different stories about what occurred in order to get himself out of the situation.

This case was prosecuted for the Commonwealth by Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Hartlep.