LANCASTER, PA — A City of Lancaster man will face charges in the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas related to the shooting that killed 27-year-old Amdrella Cartel and injured two other victims in the 600 block of North Plum Street in the early morning on June 17, 2023.
Magisterial District Judge Andrew Lefever determined the evidence and testimony presented by the Commonwealth sufficient to hold over charges against Timothy Allen, 20 of the 300 block of E. Liberty Street, after a preliminary hearing last Thursday afternoon in the Lancaster County Courthouse.
Allen is charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, carrying a firearm without a license, attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault, and 10 counts of recklessly endangering another person.
Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Lapp presented evidence and testimony from Lancaster City Bureau of Police Detective Austin Krause during the proceeding that Allen discharged a firearm into a crowd of people following a fight on the street around 3 a.m.
Detective Krause testified that Allen fired as he backed up away from the confrontation into the street and struck the first victim in the torso, fired again and struck the second victim in the face, and fired the fatal shot over his shoulder as he ran away from the scene.
Krause testified seven 9mm shell casings were recovered from the scene and the autopsy revealed Cartel’s cause of death to be gunshot wound to the head and the manner homicide.
Further video footage presented as evidence showed two other victims arriving at a local hospital with gunshot wounds to the face and torso. Two additional videos from city businesses and video from the Lancaster Safety Coalition were used by investigators to identify the defendant and victims.
Krause pointed out Allen wearing a distinct sweatshirt in multiple videos that he was also wearing in a photo posted to his Facebook page, which was submitted into evidence.
Defense counsel argued the identification of everyone except the deceased was based on hearsay and not Krause’s personal knowledge, stating the identification was based on a hoodie and that the video was pixelated.
ADA Lapp argued the identifications were based on Krause’s personal knowledge which included interviews with the victims and suspect and viewing of all the video evidence.
Allen turned himself into the Lancaster City Police Station on June 26, 2023.
Allen is scheduled to be arraigned on August 25, 2023, and remains in prison without bail.
First Deputy District Attorney Cody Wade is assisting in the prosecution.
Information, a criminal complaint, or an arrest is not a declaration of guilt. A suspect, arrestee, or defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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