With 'jury ready to go,' man takes deal
With a group of jurors ready to hear opening statements in a 2017 homicide case on Tuesday, the defendant decided to take a plea deal at the last minute.
Prosecutors were set to argue David J. “Dae Dae” Franklin, 22, of Brackenridge, shot a man March 16, 2017, at a Wick Street apartment complex. But Franklin pleaded guilty to third-degree homicide Tuesday, admitting to killing Rashaan Khalil “Smoke” Adams. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
“I'm pleased with the deal, and I think it was in everyone's best interests,” said Franklin's lawyer, William Difenderfer. “He was looking at first degree (homicide) and obviously (the deal is) a hell of a lot better than first degree.”
Investigators said the shooting was the result of an argument between Franklin and Adams. Franklin accused Adams of stealing $900 from him.
Police said the argument took a sudden, violent turn when Franklin met up with Rashaan Khalil “Smoke” Adams and A.J. Hoy at the Wick Street apartment and an argument erupted. Adams was shot and killed around 10 a.m. An autopsy determined the Philadelphia man was shot three times — once in the chest and twice in the head.
“We have a jury ready to go,” said Judge William Shaffer, who is presiding over the case. “No one can make you plead guilty. You understand that.”
Dressed in a wrinkled white button-down shirt with gray dress pants, Franklin told the judge he understood.
“This is the last chance you have to tell me you didn't do this,” Shaffer said. “You're admitting to me you caused the death of Mr. Adams. Is that correct?” “Yes, sir,” Franklin replied.
Shaffer accepted the plea deal and scheduled Franklin to be sentenced on Oct. 15.
Assistant District Attorney Mark Lope, who is prosecuting the case, said Franklin's actions “demonstrated an extreme indifference to human life.”
The trial-turned-plea-deal hearing was attended by the victim's and the defendant's families.
As Franklin left, he turned to the handful of people there for him and said, “Love ya'll.”
“Love you too little bro,” one family member said. “You're going to be straight.”
Immediately following the shooting, police spent nearly three months searching for Franklin. He was eventually picked up by the U.S. Marshals Service after authorities were notified that he was staying in the Richmond, Va., area.
He was extradited to Pennsylvania in early June 2017 and arrested by Butler City Police. Franklin has been detained in the Butler County Prison since his arrest. He was initially charged with criminal homicide, discharge of a firearm into a building and murder in the third degree.
“I think it was a fair resolution,” Lope said afterward.
Lope added that if the case had gone to trial, he would have pursued a first-degree murder conviction. If a jury had found Franklin guilty of first-degree murder, he would have been facing a life sentence or possibly a death sentence, according to state sentencing guidelines.
