NEW HOLLAND, Pa. — A Lancaster County man was convicted earlier this month of second-degree murder, arson, endangering another person and robbery for causing a man's death during an attempt to steal the victim's vehicle in a 2019 incident in New Holland, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.
Javen T. Jackson, 24, was found guilty of setting a fire at a New Holland apartment complex before trying to steal the victim's vehicle in Terre Hill, prosecutors said.
After a three-day trial, the jury determined Jackson caused the victim's death by accelerating and stopping the car while the man hung from the side of the vehicle.
The 59-year-old victim died three days later of multiple traumatic injuries, including a fractured skull that ultimately proved to be fatal, according to prosecutors.
According to evidence presented at trial, the arson took place in the overnight and early morning hours of Nov. 9 and 10, 2019, and the homicide occurred on Nov. 11.
Assistant District Attorney Christopher Miller prosecuted the case and presented testimony and evidence that Jackson was aiming to get out of the area after committing the arson.
Jackson tried to get a truck from the victim, who had been kind to Jackson in the past, buying him socks and a blanket to keep warm, according to Miller.
“I don’t know how much clearer [the victim] could’ve been that the defendant was not getting out of town with his truck,” Miller said during his closing argument. “A few minutes later, [the victim] lay dead due to the direct causation of Javen Jackson’s actions, the defendant sitting in the courtroom today.”
Prior to the crimes, Jackson had been living at multiple locations in Lancaster County, including inside a utility closet in an apartment complex in the 400 block of West Main Street in New Holland.
According to testimony, Jackson started the fire with a lighter provided to him by a relative. Jackson lit a piece of clothing on fire with the provided lighter and stuck it underneath electrical wires that were manipulated. The fire endangered and displaced 10 other people from the home, some of whom testified at trial about grabbing their children before fleeing from the rising smoke and flames.
Jackson then went to steal the victim’s pickup truck from a location on Center Avenue in Terre Hill.
The victim attempted to stop the robbery and held onto the side of the vehicle as Jackson accelerated and stopped multiple times before a witness forced him out of the driver’s seat and placed it in park.
The victim eventually collapsed to the ground due to the encounter.
Multiple witnesses from the incident testified at the trial. The jury returned its verdict in approximately 50 minutes.
Lancaster County Judge Dennis Reinaker presided over the trial and will order a sentence at a later date.
The mandatory sentence for second-degree murder is life imprisonment.
