Copyright Mechanicsburg Patriot News
WILLIAMSPORT — A Lycoming County judge will decide whether the teenager accused in a 2024 homicide outside a Lycoming County restaurant will be prosecuted as an adult or juvenile. Judge Ryan C. Gardner on Monday heard differing conclusions from experts concerning Ja’hsir Kahseem Legare, 19. He is charged as an adult with killing Ahmeen Palmer, 15, outside the TGI Fridays restaurant in suburban Loyalsock Township on March 2, 2024. Legare was 17 then. His attorney, Robert A. Hoffa, contends the case should be transferred to juvenile court so his client could receive treatment. There is no need for treatment because there are no symptoms to treat, said Dr. John S. O’Brien II, the Chester County psychiatrist, medical doctor and lawyer, who has been retained by the prosecution. “It’s scary. He had no excuse for what he did,” he said. Palmer being shot in the back of the head is an indication that the shooting was an intentional act, he said. Robert J. Meacham, a local psychologist hired by the defense, found Legare would be amenable to treatment within the juvenile system and there were places in Pennsylvania that could provide it. O’Brien and Meacham evaluated Legare in the county prison, where he is being held without bail on homicide and related charges. He was not questioned about the crime at Hoffa’s request. Testimony of the two provided this profile of Legare, who was raised in Philadelphia before his mother and sibling moved to the Williamsport area: A good childhood, no contact with the juvenile justice system, never knew his father, had various adult supervisors in Philadelphia because his mother moved about a lot, liked school, played basketball until he hurt his shoulder, was not antisocial, and was considered the man of the house. Living in Philadelphia, he was exposed to a drug-dealing and gun culture, and a gun was perceived as a necessity, Meacham said. This was the first homicide in his career where a parent was present, O’Brien said. Legare’s mother, Johneice Francine Legare, drove her son to Fridays and was standing near him when Palmer was shot. She is currently free on $250,000 unsecured bail with GPS monitoring after implicating her son as the shooter. Her charges include conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Other testimony during the nearly three-hour hearing included that Palmer also had a gun, and if Legare were to be prosecuted as a juvenile, his supervision would end when he turns 21. Gardner, who was assigned the case after president Judge Nancy L. Butts lost a retention vote last Tuesday, took the matter under advisement. The shooting occurred after two groups of about six went to Fridays to celebrate birthdays. Palmer was in one group and Legare’s younger brother, Ja’Bree Starks, was in the other. This is what occurred, according to testimony at court proceedings and police affidavits: A challenge was issued inside the restaurant, and the two groups went outside into the parking lot and began arguing. At 6:12 p.m., Ja’hsir received a phone call from his brother, and four minutes later, Ja’hsir called his mother. At almost the same time, an Uber driver picked up Iben Hakim Hunter at his place of work to take him home. But after receiving a phone call from Ja’shir, he re-directed the driver to Fridays. Johneice Legare picked up Ja’hsir and, upon arriving at the restaurant, parked her car, and as she was getting out, Starks and his group walked by her. She suggested Starks and Palmer fight to settle the dispute, but her son did not want to. Ja’hsir had gotten out of his mother’s car, and Hunter was arguing with Palmer. Palmer reached for something in his waistband, Hunter backed up, and a shot was heard. She is not sure how many shots were fired, but she identified Ja’hsir, then 18, as the shooter. State Trooper Brian Siebert reported five 9mm shell casings were found, as was a handgun under Palmer. After the shooting, Johneice Legare headed to her rental unit with Starks, picked up Ja’hsir on the way, and a nephew at a Sheetz. After a brief stop at the Penn Vale housing unit, the four drove to Philadelphia, where she has family. She was arrested there on March 6, 2024. Her son was arrested this past March 5 in Milton. Besides homicide, he is charged with aggravated assault, firearms not to be carried without a license, recklessly endangering another person, criminal use of communication facility, criminal mischief, and possession of a firearm by a minor, an instrument of crime and a weapon.
