Recruited killer is 4th man sentenced to life in 2016 triple murder in Franklin County

Amber South, Chambersburg Public Opinion
Updated ·6 min read

A fourth man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing three people in a revenge scheme eight years ago in Franklin County.

Christopher Van Johnson, 36, was directly involved in the slayings of Wendy Chaney, Phillip Jackson and Brandon Cole in a Montgomery Township barn in 2016.

U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner sentenced him on Wednesday to seven consecutive terms of life imprisonment, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Johnson also received concurrent 10- 20- and 30-year prison terms on related robbery, firearms and conspiracy charges, according to the news release.

Johnson, who pleaded guilty four years ago, is among 14 people convicted in the June 25, 2016, murders near Mercersburg.

Brutal scene found in rural Mercersburg area

Neighbors had become accustomed to hearing gunshots ring out in the evenings from the property in the 11000 block of Welsh Run Road ever since Jackson and his family moved in less than a year before, the Public Opinion previously reported. Some of them even went to a Montgomery Township Board of Supervisors meeting to complain and seek a solution, to no avail.

But that Saturday night just over eight years ago was different. Police found a brutal scene when they arrived at around 11:30 p.m.

Jackson, Chaney and Cole each had their hands zip-tied behind their back. Each had been shot -- Chaney twice in her back and neck, the others once in the head -- and set on fire.

Chaney, 39, of Hagerstown, and Cole, 47, of Fayetteville, were dead when first responders arrived. Jackson, 36, died shortly after arriving at York Hospital.

Investigation was quiet until 2019

A year after the murders, the victims' loved ones talked to the Public Opinion about how they were coping while answers remained elusive. Franklin County Crime Stoppers offered a reward for information.

Except for rumors that drugs were involved, two and half years passed before any information about what happened that night on Welsh Run Road was made public.

Pennsylvania State Police organized a Sunday afternoon news conference to announce indictments against 11 people in connection to the triple murder (three more were charged later). Federal agencies were involved in the investigation, but a government shutdown at the time prevented their participation.

Several of the defendants were members of the nationwide gang known as the Black Guerilla Family, according to previous reporting. Some of them were directly involved in the killings.

Police said they intended to kill Chaney, who as an undercover agent working for the drug task force in Washington County, Md., provided information on several of the defendants.

The perpetrators also planned to rob Jackson, who police said bought and sold cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin from the gang.

Cole happened to be there, too.

Evidence presented at Johnson's guilty plea proceeding in November 2019 illustrated what led to the murders and how it played out, according to the news release from the U.S. attorney's office.

Chaney was in a relationship with two of the people later charged in connection with murder, Kevin Coles and Torey White. All three were involved in distributing drugs.

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Coles, White and fellow defendant Kenyatta Corbett, whom authorities said was a heroin trafficker in Hagerstown, Md., and areas of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and Devin Dickerson contracted for Chaney to be murdered after they learned she was a criminal informant.

Johnson, a member of the Black Guerilla Family, and other gang members were recruited to carry out Chaney's murder by Corbett and Jerrell Adgebesan. For payment, Johnson and his crew were told they could take $20,000 that was to be in a safe in the barn and any drugs and guns they could find on the property.

After Johnson and the other gang members arrived at Jackson's property, they bound the victims' wrist with zip ties and shot each "execution style," according to the release. Jackson managed to "charge at" Johnson before being shot.

"Chaney was killed to protect the drug trafficking activities of Corbett, Coles, White, Dickerson, and others. Jackson and Cole were murdered to prevent them from being witnesses to the crimes of violence that were committed atthe Jackson property," according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Johnson and the other killers never found the money they were promised but did steal drugs and firearms.

Those involved in the murders also worked with others to obstruct a grand jury investigation and kill a person believed to be assisting authorities in the murder investigation, according to previous reporting.

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Who are the other defendants in 2016 Franklin County triple homicide?

Of the 14 people charged in connection with the murders of Chaney, Jackson and Cole, 10 were sentenced to prison (two received time-served sentences), three are awaiting sentencing and one is appealing their conviction.

The U.S. attorney's office provided information about the status of each of Johnson's co-defendants:

  • Devin Dickerson, age 31, Hagerstown, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and crack cocaine and was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment;

  • Torey White, 32, Waynesboro, was convicted by a federal jury in May of 2023of three counts of first-degree murder and his case is on appeal;

  • Michael Buck, 30, Hagerstown, Md., pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and to beingan accomplice to the use of a firearm during Hobbs Act robbery and is awaitingsentencing;

  • Nicholas Preddy, 29, Baltimore, pleaded guilty to attempting to kill a witness andwas sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment;

  • Johnnie Jenkins-Armstrong, 22, Baltimore, pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robberyand to being an accomplice to the use of a firearm during Hobbs Act robbery and wassentenced to life imprisonment;

  • Terrance Lawson, 31, Baltimore, sentenced to time served for attempting tointimidate a witness;

  • Tyrone Armstrong, 30, Baltimore, sentenced to time served for attempting tointimidate a witness;

  • Kenyatta Corbett, 41, Hagerstown and Baltimore, Md., pleaded guilty toHobbs Act robbery and to being an accomplice to the use of a firearm during HobbsAct robbery and was sentenced to life imprisonment;

  • Mark Johnson, 35, Baltimore, pled guilty to obstructing the grand jury’sinvestigation and was sentenced to 110 months’ imprisonment;

  • Llesenia Woodard, 46, Hagerstown, Md., pled guilty to providing falsetestimony to the grand jury investigating the murders and is awaiting sentencing;

  • Kevin Coles, 36, of New York, NY, and Hagerstown, Md., was found guiltyin April 2022 of multiple crimes, including murder for hire, robbery, and drugtrafficking, and was sentenced to multiple consecutive life sentences;

  • Yolanda Diaz, 31, Hagerstown, Md, indicted on multiple counts of perjury andobstruction of justice based upon her testimony at the Coles trial, recently pled guiltybefore Judge Conner and is awaiting sentencing;

  • Joshua Davis, 30, pled guilty to participating in the conspiracy to locate and kill anindividual believed to be cooperating with federal authorities in the investigation ofthe triple murders and was sentenced to serve 100 months’ imprisonment

This article originally appeared on Chambersburg Public Opinion: Franklin County triple homicide: 4th man sentenced to life in prison