A suspect in the fatal shooting of one man and wounding of a second man outside a department store last summer has turned himself in to authorities, Northampton County District Attorney Terry Houck said Wednesday.
Kevin Littles, 22, was said to be on the run, armed and dangerous after Houck this month identified him as a suspect in the fatal gunfire last Aug. 8 outside Target off Route 248 in Lower Nazareth Township.
Littles and Jakiye Taylor, 18, both of Harrisburg, face homicide, robbery and related charges in the shooting that occurred during a large marijuana deal that turned into a robbery, Houck said.
Elijah Johnson, 20, was killed in the Aug. 8 shootings in the parking lot of the busy Lower Nazareth Commons shopping center. Houck said it was Littles who killed Johnson, shooting him multiple times including in the head while they were in a car.
Jayzell Avery Sanders, 23, wounded in the right shoulder in the melee, was found bleeding in front of the Target with a blood stain on the store’s wall and his gun in a nearby parking spot, police previously said. Taylor is accused of wounding Sanders.
Taylor was in the Monroe County prison when Houck announced the charges May 6 following an exhaustive nine-month investigation. Court records indicate Taylor was in Northampton County Prison as of Wednesday, with bail denied.
He faces a preliminary hearing scheduled June 13 before District Judge John Capobianco to determine if there is enough evidence to send the 12 charges against him toward trial in Northampton County Court.
Houck around 5 p.m. Wednesday received word that Littles had turned himself in to Colonial Regional police. Littles was scheduled to be arraigned during the evening on counts of criminal homicide, robbery-serious bodily injury, criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, theft by unlawful taking, firearms not to be carried without a license and reckless endangerment, among similar charges, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Johnson’s mother, Jamie Fisher, reacted to Little’s arrest with a statement that read: “I’m just so thankful to all the law enforcement and the DA’s office. I’m grateful no one got hurt. It has been a gut-wrenching nine months waiting for their arrest. I’m glad I can now focus on my daughter’s graduation and getting justice for Elijah.”
Fisher posted every day on Facebook about Little in the hopes he would be caught.
“I was going to post every day. I’m thankful for all the strangers that shared the posts and articles,” she stated. “People also reached out to me — it’s been heart-warming.”
Reporter Sarah Cassi contributed to this report. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
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