NORRISTOWN — A jury has been seated for the trial of a Philadelphia man accused of a homicide charge for helping to plan a home invasion burglary in Lower Merion Township with two other men, during which the homeowner was shot and seriously injured, and her son was fatally wounded as he rushed to her aid.
A panel of 12 and several alternate jurors was selected on Monday for the trial of Jeremy Fuentes, 27, of the 7200 block of North 18th Street, Philadelphia, who is accused of a role in the Dec. 8, 2024, home invasion at a residence in the unit block of Meredith Road in Lower Merion.
As sheriff’s deputies escorted him to the courtroom for the jury selection process, Fuentes uttered “not guilty” when asked by a reporter for a comment about the charges lodged against him.
Jeremy Fuentes, 27, is escorted by a deputy sheriff to a Montgomery County courtroom on Sept. 15, 2025, for his homicide trial. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)
The jury was expected to hear the opening statements of the lawyers on Monday afternoon, followed by the testimony of the first prosecution witnesses.
First Assistant District Attorney Edward F. McCann Jr. and co-prosecutor Brianna Leigh Ringwood are handling the case. Defense lawyer Matthew Quigg represents Fuentes.
The trial before Judge Risa Vetri Ferman is expected to last several days.
Fuentes is accused of providing information that was the impetus for two other men, Charles Edward Fulforth and Kelvin Roberts Jr., to carry out the home invasion during which they targeted the wrong house in Lower Merion while looking to steal guns as part of an alleged gun trafficking scheme.
The homeowner, Bernadette Gaudio, 61, suffered gunshot wounds that left her paralyzed. Gaudio’s son, Andrew, 25, was fatally shot during the 2:20 a.m. home invasion carried out by Roberts and Fulforth.
Bernadette Gaudio with her sons, Andrew, on right, and Robert, on left. (Photo courtesy GoFundMe)
While Fuentes was not present during the home invasion, he is charged under accomplice liability theories with second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to commit burglary.
In July, a jury convicted Fulforth, 41, of the 1600 block The Fairway, in the Jenkintown section of Abington Township, and Roberts, 42, of the 7200 block of North 21st Street, Philadelphia, of first-degree murder in connection with the fatal home invasion and they face mandatory life prison terms when they are formally sentenced later this year.
Roberts, Fulforth and Fuentes were coworkers at Junkluggers, a junk removal business, in Upper Moreland Township.
Jeremy Fuentes (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)
The investigation revealed that on Dec. 6, 2024, Fuentes conducted an estimate for junk removal at a Bucks County residence that had an address similar to the Meredith Road residence in Lower Merion. During a meeting with the Bucks County homeowner, Fuentes observed a large gun safe, gun boxes, gun parts and ammunition, none of which were part of the estimate to be removed by Junkluggers, according to a criminal complaint filed by county Detective John Wittenberger and Lower Merion Detective James Black.
Following that estimate, Fuentes called Fulforth and shared with him the information regarding the multiple firearms in that Bucks County home, detectives alleged. Prosecutors alleged Fuentes and Fulforth were interested in stealing the firearms in furtherance of their alleged “side hustle,” a gun trafficking organization that illegally sold factory-made firearms as well as privately made ghost guns, machine gun conversion devices, or “switches,” and silencers using 3D printers.
What got lost in the translation, prosecutors alleged, was where the intended house was located and Fulforth and Roberts mistakenly went to the Gaudio home on Meredith Road in Lower Merion.
Charles Fulforth is escorted to his homicide trial in Montgomery County Court on July 21, 2025. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)
At the time of the arrests, District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said, “If not for Fuentes’ involvement, the robbery/burglary would not have occurred and the Gaudios would still be living their normal lives.”
Prosecutors alleged the tragic murder and attempted murder were all about “greed and putting guns in the hands of criminals.”
Multiple gunshots were fired from three different guns during the home invasion, according to previous testimony. Authorities recovered two guns: a .25-caliber handgun the intruders mistakenly left at the scene and a 9mm 3D-printed ghost gun, which was found in Fulforth’s possession when authorities searched his residence.
Testimony revealed that DNA from Fulforth and Roberts was found on the 3D-printed gun, and the gun was a ballistic match with projectiles recovered from Andrew Gaudio’s body.
Roberts, Fulforth and Fuentes also face separate charges of corrupt organizations, illegal sale or transfer of firearms, and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities in connection with their lead roles in the gun trafficking organization.
It was during the Lower Merion homicide investigation that authorities uncovered the gun trafficking organization.