PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two men are on trial in Montgomery County for murder, accused of killing an innocent bystander in a shootout on a Norristown street last September.
Prosecutor Samantha Cauffman says Barry Fields was killed because of what she calls “a street battle born of a petty dispute.”
Cauffman tells jurors that on Sept. 18, 2021, in just eight seconds, 24-year-old Edwin Islas-Cruz, 17-year-old Giovanni Islas, and 21-year-old Joshua Agudio fired 39 shots at each other on Astor Street in Norristown.
Fields’ sister, Jodi Peregrina, testified she and other family members were enjoying a sunny September day when two men, who prosecutors say were Islas and Islas-Cruz, hopped out of a car and started firing down the block at Agudio.
Video shows Fields and his family when the gun battle starts. He’s sitting on the front steps of his Astor Street home at about 5:20 p.m. that day.
As he starts to duck for cover, a bullet hits him in the face. A police officer testified he likely died immediately.
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Islas-Cruz and Agudio are on trial. A warrant was issued on Sept. 30, 2021 for Islas but his whereabouts are unknown.
Agudio’s lawyer says his client was ambushed and returned fire in self-defense. Islas-Cruz’s lawyer says there isn’t enough evidence to prove his client was there.
Charges against both men include first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.