“This is one of the most disturbing and violent cases in this division’s history. The fact that all three victims were shot in the head with their hands restrained and then set on fire shows how utterly deplorable these murders were,” Thomas Hodnett, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Philadelphia Field Division, said in the news release. “Coles was the one who contracted for these murders to occur due to Chaney’s cooperation with the DEA. Let me be clear; anyone who attempts to intimidate, harm or murder a witness will feel the full wrath and weight of federal criminal prosecution.”
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What Happened
The man tied to the drug-related killings of his girlfriend and two men in a Mercersburg area barn almost six years ago was found guilty last week in federal court in Harrisburg, Pa.
Kevin Coles, 36, of New York, N.Y, and Hagerstown, was found guilty of multiple crimes, including murder-for-hire, robbery, and drug trafficking, after a three-week trial before United States District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner. The jury deliberated for three hours before rendering the verdict.
All three victims had their hands zip-tied behind their backs and were shot once in the head and set on fire, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Wendy Ann Chaney, 39, Hagerstown, who was shot once in the back, and Brandon Cole, 47, of Fayetteville, Pa., were found dead in the barn on Welsh Run Road in Montgomery Township when Pennsylvania State Police responded at 11:34 p.m. June 25, 2016. Phillip Matthew Jackson, 36, who lived at the property, was flown to York Hospital, where he died shortly after arrival.
Black Guerrilla Family Gang Involvement
Wendy Chaney was in a relationship with Kevin Coles and assisted him with his drug distribution operation before the murders. Coles learned that Chaney cooperated with federal authorities and contracted for her murder.
An intercessor recruited members of the Baltimore native gang known as the Black Guerrilla Family and others from Baltimore to travel to the property of Phillip Matthew Jackson to kill Chaney. The killers encountered not only Chaney but also Cole and Jackson, whom they then murdered to avert them from being witnesses to the murder of Chaney.
The contracted killers were promised they could take $20,000 that they was told that it would be in a safe in the barn and any drugs and firearms they found on Jackson’s property as payment for conducting the murder. According to the news release, the hired killers never found any money.
Kevin Coles
Coles sentencing has not yet been scheduled, but the penalty under federal law for several of the offenses he is being charged with is mandatory life imprisonment.
Coles was involved in trafficking significant amounts of heroin and crack cocaine in Chambersburg, Hagerstown and elsewhere. The jury found that two people that Coles had distributed heroin to had suffered serious bodily injury when they overdosed on the heroin that he supplied to them, and they had to be resuscitated by using Narcan.
The jury found Coles guilty of using, brandishing and firing off a firearm during his activities he performed while drug distributing.
Others Charged in Connection
Eleven other people from Hagerstown, Waynesboro and Baltimore were charged in connection with the murders. Devin Dickerson, 31, Hagerstown, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and crack cocaine and is awaiting sentencing. Kenyatta Corbett, 38, Hagerstown, pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and to being an accomplice to the use of a firearm during Hobbs Act robbery and is awaiting sentencing. Michael Buck, 30, Hagerstown, pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and to being an accomplice to the use of a firearm during Hobbs Act robbery and is awaiting sentencing. Nicholas Preddy, 29, Baltimore, pleaded guilty to attempting to kill a witness and is awaiting sentencing. Johnnie Jenkins-Armstrong, 22, Baltimore, pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and to being an accomplice to the use of a firearm during Hobbs Act robbery and is awaiting sentencing. Terrance Lawson, 31, Baltimore, sentenced to time served for attempting to intimidate a witness. Tyrone Armstrong, 30, Baltimore, sentenced to time served for attempting to intimidate a witness. Christopher Johnson, 31, Baltimore, pleaded guilty to multiple counts including murder for hire and is awaiting sentencing and Joshua Davis, 30, previously pleaded guilty to participating in the conspiracy to locate and kill an individual believed to be cooperating with federal authorities. Davis was sentenced to serve 100 months in prison.
Two other people, Torey White, 30, of Waynesboro and Jerell Adgebesan, 32, of Baltimore, are charged in connection with the investigation and are awaiting their trial.
