Teenager Sentenced After a Man Died in Drug Deal Gone Wrong

Norristown teenager Rontrey Wilkins pleaded guilty to robbery and third-degree murder at the Montgomery County Courthouse on Monday in relation to a drug deal from February where a man was fatally shot in Norristown, according to The Times Herald.

Rontrey Wilkins, 19, of the 500 block of Buttonwood Street, admitted to having shot Andrew Polen, 25, of West Norriton, around the area of Hamilton Street and Lafayette Streets in Norristown during a drug deal gone wrong on Feb. 11 of this year, per the affidavit of probable cause.

After his guilty plea, Common Pleas Court Judge Carolyn Carluccio sentenced him to 15 to 40 years in prison.

Polen and another man were in a 2006 Infiniti sedan, waiting for Wilkins, with whom they were going to communicate about a drug deal, according to the affidavit. Wilkins came and sat in the back seat, allegedly pretending to be talking on the phone, then quickly put his gun to the driver’s head, telling the men to empty their pockets and turn off the car engine.

The driver is said to have seen two other men coming, one with a gun. The driver drove away with Wilkins still partially out of the door. The driver told police that he heard three shots when Wilkins fell out of the car.

Polen was transported to Mercy Suburban Hospital, and his death was announced.

According to Wilkins’ attorney, Saul Solomon, his client confessed to the incident when he was first arrested.

“He dropped out of school at 11th grade and, well, when you’re 18 years old, not in school, not working, and in you’re in Norristown, there’s a very good chance you’re going to get involved in the drug world,” said Solomon.