HARRISBURG, PA — Johnny Jenkins-Armstrong, 26, from Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced to life imprisonment on December 4, 2023, for his involvement in the brutal murders of three individuals in Mercersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The victims were killed in 2016, one of whom was assisting state and federal drug investigators at the time.
United States District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner also imposed a consecutive 20-year sentence on Jenkins-Armstrong for an associated robbery charge. The announcement was made by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
The sentencing is the culmination of a seven-year investigation into the triple murders that occurred on June 25, 2016, on a property along Welsh Run Road in Mercersburg. On arrival at the crime scene, Pennsylvania State Police found the bodies of Wendy Ann Chaney, 39, Brandon Cole, 47, and Phillip Matthew Jackson, 36, in a barn. All three victims had been shot, their hands zip-tied behind their backs, and their bodies set on fire. Chaney and Cole were pronounced dead at the scene, while Jackson succumbed to his injuries shortly after being transported to York Hospital.
Evidence presented during the guilty plea and related proceedings revealed that Chaney was involved with co-defendants Kevin Coles and Torey White in their drug distribution operation. Upon learning that Chaney was collaborating with federal authorities, Coles, White, Devin Dickerson, and Kenyatta Corbett, a heroin dealer operating in Hagerstown, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, orchestrated her murder.
Corbett and Jerell Adgebesan enlisted members of a Baltimore-based gang, the Black Guerilla Family, including Jenkins-Armstrong, to execute the murder. The killers were promised $20,000 thought to be in a safe on the property, along with any drugs and firearms they could find.
Upon reaching the property, the murderers encountered not only Chaney but also Cole and Jackson. After binding their hands with zip-ties, the victims were shot execution-style and their bodies set ablaze. Jenkins-Armstrong was found guilty of shooting Chaney, while co-defendant Johnson was found guilty of delivering the fatal shot to Chaney’s neck. Chaney’s murder was intended to safeguard the drug trafficking activities of Corbett, Coles, White, Dickerson, and others. Jackson and Cole were killed to prevent them from being potential witnesses to the violent crimes committed on the property.
Despite their expectations, the assailants found no money on the property but managed to steal some drugs and firearms. The case underscores the ruthless violence employed by drug rings to protect their operations and silence potential informants.
The investigation involved multiple law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local levels. These included the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Harrisburg Resident Office and Hagerstown Resident Office, Pennsylvania State Police units in Chambersburg and Troop H, Franklin County Drug Task Force, Franklin County Adult Probation, Pennsylvania State Probation and Parole, Hagerstown Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division, Washington County Narcotics Task Force, Baltimore District Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Strike Force Group 1, Maryland State Police Homicide Unit, Baltimore Police Department’s Narcotics, Fugitive, and Homicide Units, Baltimore County Police Department’s Narcotics and Gang Unit, Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Evidence Management Unit in Quantico, VA, US Marshal’s Service in Harrisburg, PA and Phoenix, AZ, Franklin County District Attorney’s Office, United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Maryland, and Washington County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Judy Fernandez, Manager of Analytic Services at LexisNexis Special Services, Inc. (LNSSI), provided expert assistance to investigators and prosecutors, offering her expertise in analysis, support, and rendering professional opinions.
Assistant United States Attorney William A. Behe, a member of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, along with Senior Litigation Counsel Michael Consiglio, were responsible for prosecuting these cases.
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