LANCASTER, PA — On Monday, a Lancaster teenager was sentenced to a prison term of 5 to 10 years following a guilty plea to aggravated assault and related charges. The charges stem from a shooting incident that occurred in the 100 block of Dauphin Street on January 7, 2023, leaving a fellow juvenile victim with a gunshot wound to the head.
Charles Freeman, 16, of the 900 block of Sterling Place, stood before Lancaster County Judge Thomas Sponaugle to enter his plea. He admitted guilt to aggravated assault, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a firearm by a minor, recklessly endangering another person, and discharging a firearm.
Judge Sponaugle took the opportunity during the proceeding to remind Freeman of the severe consequences if the victim had not survived the shooting. He told the defendant that he would likely have been facing a life sentence in such a case.
The Lancaster City Bureau of Police responded to the shooting incident around 1:30 p.m. on January 7, 2023. Arriving officers discovered a 15-year-old juvenile with a gunshot wound to the head. The victim was quickly transported to a local hospital for treatment of the life-threatening injury.
Assistant District Attorney Janie Swinehart prosecuted the case, while Lancaster City Bureau of Police Officer James Boas filed the charges.
The case has its roots in an investigation that began on the day of the shooting. Officers found the juvenile victim with an apparent gunshot wound and rushed him to the hospital for treatment of a non-life-threatening injury. The investigation eventually led to charges against three males: Jose Ramos, 16, Charles Freeman, 15, and Sackiwa Ntuli, 18, all of Lancaster.
Freeman was taken into custody on February 16, 2023, after Ramos had been apprehended earlier on February 3, 2023. Ntuli was later found hiding on a second floor roof of a residence in the 800 block of E. Orange St. on February 23, 2023, and was taken into custody without incident.
The prompt response by Patrol Officers from the Lancaster City Bureau of Police, coupled with the investigative work of the Lancaster City Police Selective Enforcement Unit, ensured a secure and successful resolution to the incident, ultimately resulting in Freeman’s successful prosecution.
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