Pair of 'thugs' charged in Upper Gwynedd home invasion

Two injured gunmen, who Montgomery County authorities had said were part of a "gang of thugs," have been arrested in an Upper Gwynedd Township home invasion that left a man dead, the homewoner wounded and is still shrouded in mystery.

Jakel Stone and Niochie Lawson, both from Maryland, were charged with burglary, robbery and related crimes, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman announced along with Upper Gwynedd Police Chief David Duffy.

Another home invader, Kieme Persons, 22, of Capitol Heights, Md., was shot and killed during the attack.

Ferman said the motive behind the June 9 home invasion is "not anything we can discuss," then added, "it's a very active criminal investigation." Nothing was believed to have been taken during the incident, she said.

Persons' death was ruled a homicide by the Montgomery County coroner, but Ferman's office ruled that homeowner Jermaine Edwards, 31, "was legally justified in the use of deadly force to thwart the home invasion attack and to protect his own life and the lives of his family."

No charges will be filed against him in Persons' death or in the shootings of Stone and Lawson.

Ferman would not comment on the whereabouts of Edwards and his family, saying only that he had been released from the hospital.

Edwards was arrested on drug-related charges in March, but the case was dismissed a month later, the Inquirer reported.

The nightmare began for the Edwards family that June night when Edwards and two of his daughters, 11 and 9, arrived home. As they were greeted at the front door by Edwards' wife, Jolene, the men stormed out of a nearby shed and toward the family, investigators said.

One man had a gun and ordered the family inside the home. Jolene Edwards was told to put the children to bed.

A shootout ensued among the men once the children and their mother were upstairs. Jermaine Edwards was shot several times in his chest and legs.

Stone and Lawson sought medical treatment for their gunshot wounds at Albert Einstein Medical Center, where they gave false names. The deception was soon discovered: Stone was arrested at the hospital and jailed for outstanding warrants in a different case, Ferman said, but Lawson was able to sneak out after he was treated.

Authorities tracked Lawson down Friday in Montgomery County, Md. He is awaiting extradition.