READING, Pa. – The jury in the trial for two men charged in the deadly shooting of a Reading teenager reached a verdict Thursday, after four days of testimony.
Vashon Winfield and Hector Torres were both found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the shooting death of 19-year-old Javien Perch.
The two men were also facing third-degree murder and conspiracy charges, but the jury did not need to render a verdict on those, given that the men were found guilty on the first-degree charges.
Winfield, however, was found not guilty on a “firearms not to be carried without license” charge.
The fourth day of this trial featured continued testimony from investigators.
The grandmother of the victim in this case told 69 News she just wants to know the “why” behind the deadly shooting that took place in March of 2023.
Thursday, the jury heard more details about how cell phone and location finding technology was used to establish a timeline of the incident.
Primary investigator John McKeever returned to the stand to continue his testimony from Wednesday.
Following McKeever, Reading Police Department Sgt. Trevor Atkins took the stand, delving deeper into cell phone and social media evidence used to the build the case against Torres and Winfield.
The jury heard closing arguments from the prosecution and defense attorneys and got their charges from the judge in the afternoon session.
Investigators say Perch was shot multiple times.
His body was found in a wooded area near the Reading-Alsace Township line back in the spring of 2023 days after loved ones reported him missing.