Teen accused of killing of William Penn student at Penn Park will stand trial, judge rules

A teen who’s accused of shooting and killing a senior at William Penn Senior High School in York will stand trial on charges of criminal homicide and related offenses, a judge ruled on Monday.

Senior District Judge Nancy Edie made the decision at the end of the preliminary hearing for Javion Roman, 17, of York, who’s charged with killing Malaki Beady at Penn Park in York at about 11 a.m. on March 23. He was 17.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Dave Maisch added additional charges — possession of a firearm by a minor, carrying a firearm without a license and two counts of recklessly endangering another person — and called two witnesses.

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First, York City Police Detective Sgt. Kyle Hower testified that law enforcement obtained surveillance video that shows Roman walking from his home on South Newberry Street to Penn Park and back.

Roman, he said, is holding an object at one point that appears to be a gun. Security cameras also captured him later disposing of his sweatshirt in the area of the West College Avenue Bridge, Hower testified.

The shooting itself, though, was not captured on video. Police found eight 9 mm casings at the crime scene but have not recovered a weapon.

Law enforcement spoke to two witnesses, reviewed school records and searched police databases. Hower said investigators positively identified Roman through a photo on Instagram.

Following the shooting, Roman, he said, deleted his Instagram profile — law enforcement sent in a preservation request and obtained a search warrant for the page — and fled to Virginia.

In an interview, Roman, told investigators that he was at his home sleeping the entire time, Hower testified.

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Next, Maisch called a 15-year-old boy who was one of two people with Beady that morning.

The York Daily Record/Sunday News is not using the boy’s name at the request of law enforcement.

Roman, he testified, was the shooter.

Though Roman had been wearing a ski mask, the boy said, he could tell it was him because of his eyes.

Roman’s attorney, Bill Graff, later unsuccessfully argued that prosecutors presented a lot of speculation and had not met their burden of proof.

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Roman is set to be formally arraigned on May 25. He’s being held without bail in York County Prison.

Dylan Segelbaum is the courthouse reporter at the York Daily Record, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. Contact him at dsegelbaum@ydr.com, by phone at 717-916-3981 or on Twitter @dylan_segelbaum.