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The son of an advocate for the support of unhoused people in Pennsylvania is accused of shooting a homeless man in the face, killing him. The defendant, Thomas James Niarhos, 15, allegedly claimed that the man he shot had raped a teenage girl.
“He’s a rapist. Don’t feel sorry for him,” he allegedly said as officers in Pottstown, located around 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia, arrested him, according to The Daily Voice. “He raped a 15-year-old girl. Don’t help him.”
The victim, Jeremiah Waylon Hawkins, 39, sustained a gunshot wound to the side of the face, the autopsy reportedly determined.
Thomas James Niarhos fatally shot Jeremiah Waylon Hawkins in the face, police said. (Screenshot: WCAU)
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Niarhos, who is charged as an adult, confronted Hawkins on Wednesday, according to documents obtained by the Voice, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and NBC Philadelphia. The victim had been walking his bicycle near a train station.
Surveillance footage allegedly showed Niarhos extending his arm toward Hawkins, who swung a tire in an attempt to knock the .40-caliber Smith and Wesson semiautomatic handgun from the teenager’s hand. The 15-year-old allegedly managed to fire off one shot. As Hawkins fell, Niarhos allegedly fired another shot. The 15-year-old dropped the gun and attempted to flee, but two witnesses, who identified themselves as family friends of the boy, held him for police in the nearby parking lot of the Blue Elephant restaurant.
The defendant’s father is Tom Niarhos, executive director of Pottstown Beacon off Hope, an organization providing support to people experiencing homelessness. He also owned the gun used in the murder, officers said. The father described finding a note in his son’s bedroom showing a plan to run away, according to cops in the Voice report. The teenager had packed a bag of clothes and a cell phone charger.
The younger Niarhos made the abuse allegations back in the summer, when police detained him for loitering near the scene of the murder right before 6 a.m. on July 13, according to officers. They took him home for breaking curfew, and then checked on the girl in question. The teenage girl confirmed that “something had happened to her.” Detectives told the mother to have a sexual assault nurse examination at Children’s Hospital. The mother called investigators the next day, on July 14, to tell them they did not want to pursue an investigation.
Defendant Niarhos is charged with crimes including first-degree murder, third-degree murder, possessing a firearm by a minor. He is held without bail at the Montgomery County Youth Center and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing set for 11:30 a.m. on Thursday.
