Montgomery County prosecutors charged a 15-year-old girl with third-degree murder after a 17-year-old boy was found shot to death Monday inside a Jenkintown apartment.
Precious Hamilton, the teenager now behind bars, told detectives she accidentally fired the weapon, a stolen revolver shown in multiple photographs and videos recovered from the victim’s iPad, according to authorities.
Baseem “Seyven” Baker was found lifeless – with a gunshot wound to his head – at around 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6, in the bedroom of an 11th-floor unit at 100 York Apartments, located at the corner of Old York and Township Line roads, police said. He was discovered by his mother, who was checking on her son after running errands and participating in an online class, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Hamilton had spent the weekend with the Baker family, court documents indicate. Baker’s mother and cousin believed they were in a romantic relationship; Hamilton described Baker as her ‘ex,’ though she told officers the pair were on good terms.
Baker’s 18-year-old cousin spent time with the victim, Hamilton, and another girl that weekend, and she said Hamilton showed off a “cowboy-style” gun with tape around the handle, the affidavit states.
The cousin said she convinced Hamilton not to fire the weapon out of the apartment’s window, a claim Hamilton denied in her interview with law enforcement.
Prosecutors said images and clips recovered from Baker’s iPad show the gun. In one clip, Hamilton appears to “dry fire” the weapon out of a window, meaning she pulled the trigger without ammunition, according to authorities.
At the time of the shooting, the cousin and the other girl had left, leaving Hamilton and Baker alone when the latter’s mother left the apartment for less than two hours, prosecutors said. Surveillance video shows Hamilton leaving the complex by herself just before 3:30 p.m. Oct. 6., investigators said.
Hamilton, who lives in Crum Lynne, Delaware County, told law enforcement that she and Baker were lying on the bed and began to “play around,” the affidavit states. She did not wish to continue and grabbed the gun from under the bed, in an attempt to pack it in her bag as she prepared to leave, Hamilton allegedly told detectives.
That’s when the firearm went off, according to Hamilton’s account. She told police Baker’s cousin had previously cocked the gun while handling it, according to the affidavit.
Hamilton, in a state of panic, did not call for help, instead contacting her mother to pick her up, prosecutors said.
The teen admitted that she had stolen the gun from a male acquaintance and told police it remained in her bag inside her mother’s vehicle, according to the affidavit. However, investigators searched the car and still have not found the weapon.
The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office charged Hamilton in adult court with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and firearm violations.
Hamilton’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Counseling, peer support, and victim advocacy services are available for victims, family members, and others affected by gun violence. Go to metrophiladelphia.com/gun-violence-resources for more information.
