HARRISBURG, Pa. — Police in Harrisburg have charged a suspect in the death of Jordan Allen, the victim of an apparent execution-style shooting in October 2022.
Allen, 23, was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds in the Hall Manor section of the city on the morning of October 20, 2022.
Harrisburg Police on Monday announced that Stafford A. Wedderburne, 31, has been charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery, illegal possession of a firearm, and carrying a firearm without a license in connection to Allen's death.
Police say Allen sustained two gunshot wounds to his leg and a third to the back of his head. It was the latter gunshot that killed him.
On the day after Allen's murder, police obtained surveillance video footage that showed a man ditching Allen's vehicle on the 500 block of South 15th Street. The man is seen exiting Allen's vehicle before getting into another car occupied by at least two other people.
Police traced the registration of that vehicle, a 2003 Buick Century, to a witness who identified Wedderburne as the mastermind behind a plot to rob Allen at her home.
Wedderburne had recently been released from prison and was "looking to rob someone," the witness told police. She and Wedderburne had been corresponding for about a year while he was in prison, she related.
In planning the robbery, the witness reported, Wedderburne went through her cell phone looking for potential candidates. He allegedly found pictures of Allen with a large amount of money and decided to rob him.
The witness admitted to contacting Allen via Instagram and inviting him to her home, where Wedderburne laid in wait inside a bedroom closet, according to police. When Allen arrived, Wedderburne allegedly jumped out from hiding, pointed a gun at Allen, and bound his hands and feet.
Wedderburne then allegedly searched Allen but found no drugs or cash. He then allegedly threatened to shoot Allen if he did not provide names of contacts who might have cash or drugs on hand, according to police.
Eventually, Wedderburne untied Allen's feet and forced him to accompany him in the witness's car, police claim. The witness reported driving them around until they stopped at some houses on Cloverly Road, where Wedderburne and Allen briefly exited the car, meeting her again after she parked at 13th and Hanover streets.
She then drove to Hall Manor, where Wedderburne forced Allen out of the vehicle toward a wooded area, police said. After about five minutes, the witness told police she heard three or four gunshots before Wedderburne returned to the car, still holding a gun.
When she confronted Wedderburne, the witness told police, he allegedly told her he didn't know what she was talking about.
The witness said she drove Wedderburne around the city, at which point he disposed of Allen's cell phone. They then returned to her apartment, where she said Wedderburne washed his hands with bleach. He then called around to find a man to move Allen's van from the front of the witness's home, she reported, but the man said he could not drive the vehicle on a highway.
Wedderburne then moved the van himself, parking it where it was found on South 13th Street. The unknown man whom Wedderburne had contacted was still in the car with the witness when Wedderburne was seen ditching the car on surveillance footage, she told police.
Police said Wedderburne has a previous felony conviction for burglary in 2012 and is barred from possessing a firearm. He also does not have a license to carry, according to the complaint.