Norristown Teen Captured In Fatal Thanksgiving Shooting: DA

NORRISTOWN, PA — A Norristown teenager has been arrested after a volley of shots he fired struck an innocent bystander and killed him while he was eating Thanksgiving dinner with his family, authorities said.

Kevon Clarke, 19, has been charged with first degree murder in the death of 25-year-old Edilberto Miguel Palaez Moctezuma. Clarke was arrested at 11 a.m. Monday morning on the 5500 block of Whitby Avenue in Philadelphia by the U.S. Marshals Eastern Pennsylvania Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force.

Investigators determined that was hiding with a known associate inside a home there. He was taken into custody without incident.

"The U.S. Marshals worked diligently in finding this violent murderer and safely get him off the streets without further bloodshed,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. “The Marshals’ work has been invaluable for the safety of our community."

Clarke was identified by the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and Norristown Police Department immediately following the shooting. U.S. Marshals adopted the case shortly thereafter.

Investigators said they determined that Clarke, his girlfriend, and two others had been asked to leave a party on Haws Avenue in Norristown earlier in the day on Thanksgiving.

When the four left, they stole some alcohol, and Clarke's girlfriend's cousin texted them to ask for it back, police said.

Clarke then arranged to meet the cousin to return the alcohol at Clarke's home on Basin Street, according to authorities. When the cousin arrived, Clarke came out brandishing a gun, and fired several shots at her car as she sped away, police said.

One of those shots went in to the home where Palaez Moctezuma was eating dinner, killing him.

At least two other men were spotted in surveillance footage fleeing the scene after Clarke fired the shots, police said, and the investigation is ongoing.

Clarke has been taken to prison without bail and is awaiting his arraignment.

If you have any information on the investigation, contact the Norristown Police Department at 610-270-0977 or call the Montgomery County Detectives’ Tip Line at 610-278-DOIT (3638)