Background: The Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Eagleville, Pennsylvania (Montgomery County, Penn., official website)/YouTube). Inset: Eric Berkowitz (Montgomery County District Attorney's Office).
A suspect in Pennsylvania is accused of trying to hire someone to kill his ex-girlfriend and two men she had dated since they had broken up.
Eric Berkowitz, 41, faces charges including three counts of criminal solicitation for murder, three counts of attempted murder, and three counts of recklessly endangering another person, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Berkowitz approached a man and "offered him $5,000 to murder three people in New York," authorities said. The suspect allegedly named the three individuals and their addresses and gave the other man a Mac 11 — which is commonly a fully-automatic machine pistol — "to use for the murders."
Berkowitz also gave the other man — identified by authorities as Steven Luker — a "burner" cellphone "for their communications," the district attorney's office said, and his plan was for "the two of them to drive to New York the next day" and "meet up outside one target's house." Those targets were Berkowitz's former girlfriend "and two men she had dated since their seven-year relationship ended."
Luker reportedly approached the Upper Dublin Township Police Department and told them about Berkowitz's alleged scheme. Luker and officers worked to record a conversation between the two men, during which authorities said "Berkowitz confirmed the plan to go to New York where they would meet one street over from the home of an intended target."
According to the DA's office, Berkowitz said that he would "take care of the girl himself."
The following day, as the suspect exited his home in Upper Dublin and got into an Uber, police stopped the vehicle and arrested him. Authorities said he was carrying "a duffel bag containing a black Masterpiece Arms Grim Reaper firearm with a loaded magazine containing 23 9 mm rounds of ammunition, cocaine and a large sum of cash."
When officers interviewed the Uber driver, he reportedly informed them the suspect's destination was a home in Endicott, New York, about a 175-mile drive north. When investigators learned the address, they discovered it was where Berkowitz's former girlfriend resided.
"I'd like to commend Mr. Luker for immediately contacting police after he was approached by the defendant to participate in this murder scheme," said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. "He ultimately saved the lives of three innocent people."
A judge denied Berkowitz bail during his arraignment, and he was booked into the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Feb. 20.
Comments