Lamour Branch, the man accused of killing two New Philadelphia teens in October 2023, will spend up to 56 years behind bars after pleading guilty in Schuylkill County Court.<\/p>\n
Branch, 21, of Port Carbon, was charged with first- and third-degree murder in the Oct. 8, 2023, deaths of 18-year-old Hunter Mock and 16-year-old Angelito Caraballo, whose bodies were found in a wooded area off Ferndale Road near New Philadelphia two days later.<\/p>\n
On Thursday morning \u2014 a day before jury selection was scheduled to begin \u2014 Branch appeared before President Judge Jacqueline L. Russell and pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in the death of Hunter Mock.<\/p>\n
He also entered a no-contest plea to a felony aggravated assault charge involving Angelito Caraballo, and pleaded guilty to misdemeanors of possessing an instrument of crime and tampering with physical evidence, according to District Attorney Michael A. O\u2019Pake.<\/p>\n
Branch was subsequently sentenced to 18 to 36 years in state prison on the murder charge and eight to 16 years on the aggravated assault charge.<\/p>\n
He also received two to four years combined on the two misdemeanor charges, resulting in a total term of 28 to 56 years of incarceration.<\/p>\n
Branch\u2019s trial was scheduled to begin Monday, May 4.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Pake said that there had been ongoing discussions about a potential plea agreement over the past several days.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all happened pretty quickly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Pake said state police will continue to investigate the death of Caraballo, as no one has taken responsibility for his murder.<\/p>\n
He said the murders set off a lengthy, complicated investigation in October 2023 that ultimately lasted two and a half years. He particularly commended Trooper Nicholas Reese for his investigative efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were some inherent difficulties that the commonwealth had with this case just based upon the facts,\u201d O\u2019Pake said.<\/p>\n
Investigators said the victims\u2019 bodies were found at \u201cThe Sanchez,\u201d an old mining area off Ferndale Road about a mile east of Route 209. Mock died of a gunshot to the head while Caraballo had been stabbed, police said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFour young individuals walk into the woods,\u201d O\u2019Pake said. \u201cTwo of them were murdered, two walk out, and they\u2019re pointing fingers at each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Based on the available circumstantial evidence, prosecutors charged Branch with both homicides. After Branch was charged, the other witness \u2014 Jahlique Sherwood \u2014 was arrested on three separate occasions, including for charges of receiving a stolen firearm and carrying a firearm without a license, which O\u2019Pake says would have damaged his credibility as a witness.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Pake said he has referred Sherwood\u2019s cases to the state attorney general\u2019s office due to the potential conflict.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Pake said both of the victims\u2019 families were \u201cvery satisfied\u201d and in agreement with the plea deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to give them a lot of credit and gratitude, and I thank them for their strength and perseverance throughout the course of the investigation and for their preparation for the trial,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018The right decision\u2019<\/p>\n
Shortly after the guilty plea was announced, O\u2019Pake held a press conference late Thursday afternoon at the Schuylkill County Courthouse. He was accompanied by Senior Deputy DA Jennifer Foose, Trooper Reese and members of Caraballo\u2019s family.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Pake said that the investigation into Caraballo\u2019s death remains open, and authorities will try to determine whether an additional suspect will be charged.<\/p>\n
He said his office will welcome any investigative information or tips from the public.<\/p>\n
![\"District](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/RHR-L-BRANCH-0502-01.jpeg\")
District Attorney Michael O\u2019Pake talks about the plea agreement reached on the Lamour Branch case Thursday at a press conference at the Schuylkill County Courthouse. To his left are family members of the late Angelito Caraballo. On the left are Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Foose and state police Trooper Nicholas Reese. (HYUN SOO LEE\/STAFF PHOTO)<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anyone has any information that they even think may be helpful, we will be more than happy to examine that evidence and follow up on any leads it may bring us,\u201d O\u2019Pake said.<\/p>\n
Caraballo\u2019s mother, Tanya Evans, said she does not believe Branch took her son\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like he played a big role,\u201d she said, \u201cbut he\u2019s not the one who actually killed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evans \u2014 who wore a graphic tee memorializing the two victims \u2014 said the past two and a half years have been \u201cvery, very hard.\u201d She said she is relieved that at least one aspect of the case has been resolved.<\/p>\n
She added that the plea agreement was a very hard decision, but she is also glad she didn\u2019t have to go through the ordeal of sitting through a trial.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis decision was not an easy decision for the district attorney\u2019s office nor for the family, but it was the right decision and the just decision based upon the facts in this case,\u201d O\u2019Pake said. \u201cFor anyone to say otherwise is uninformed. Please do not perpetuate the pain for the families. Let that pain end today, and let the healing process begin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe families of both victims in this case deserve a great deal of credit,\u201d O\u2019Pake continued. \u201d \u2026 Without them, we would not have reached the conclusion that we did today.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Pake again thanked state police for the time and resources they spent on the investigation, and particularly credited Reese for his dedication.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Reese) has lived this case with the families for the last two and a half years,\u201d O\u2019Pake said. \u201cEvery day during that two and a half years, I guarantee you he worked on some aspect of this case. \u2026 He knows more about this case than anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that the possibility of a plea agreement only came up about 10 days prior to Thursday, and prosecutors made sure to get the families\u2019 input in reaching their decision. Meanwhile, they continued preparing for the trial.<\/p>\n
He again stressed the \u201cinherent problems\u201d with the case, noting the murders took place in a heavily wooded area, without any cameras or eyewitnesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo of the individuals (who entered the woods) left the woods that night,\u201d he said. \u201cOne in a frantic state, and one to run and hide. Lamour Branch was the one to run and hide.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough the investigative work of state police and particularly Trooper Reese, we uncovered some circumstantial evidence that allowed us to charge just Mr. Branch.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Pake said that Sherwood would have served as the prosecution\u2019s main witness in the trial, but his recent criminal history would have damaged his credibility to the jury.<\/p>\n
\u201c(His credibility) has been compromised in other manners as well, with inconsistent statements he has provided,\u201d O\u2019Pake said, \u201call of which have been provided to defense counsel.\u201d<\/p>\n
The day the bodies were discovered, Branch was taken into custody on a criminal trespass charge from an unrelated case in September 2023.<\/p>\n
State police at Frackville charged the defendant in the double homicide on June 5, 2024.<\/p>\n
He was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge David A. Plachko and remanded to the county prison. Homicide is a non-bailable offense.<\/p>\n
Branch has been in jail since December 2023, when Russell revoked his bail for violating conditions of an earlier bail release by failing to meet with his probation officer and also failing to appear for a hearing in the trespass case.<\/p>\n
In October 2024, Branch waived his right to a formal arraignment and pleaded not guilty to all homicide-related charges.<\/p>\n
Branch initially denied being at the homicide scene, but later admitted it, according to state police. Search warrants show that he told police about going with Mock and Caraballo and another man to New Philadelphia to take turns firing a gun. He claims the other man shot Mock.<\/p>\n
Branch was represented by Public Defender Ashley Sabol. She could not be reached for comment Thursday.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Pake hopes the sentencing will help bring closure to the victims\u2019 families.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe families of the victims deserve the opportunity to heal from these tragic events,\u201d the DA\u2019s office said in a news release. \u201cThose most familiar with the facts of this case \u2014 including Trooper Reese, the District Attorney\u2019s Office and the victims\u2019 families \u2014 have worked diligently to reach this resolution. Public criticism from individuals who are not fully informed of the facts may only serve to prolong the pain experienced by the families.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lamour Branch, the man accused of killing two New Philadelphia teens in October 2023, will spend up to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":764988,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,356,5295,728,50,1448,2830,1311,62458,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-764987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-america","tag-courts","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pa","tag-pennsylvania","tag-philadelphia","tag-schuylkill-county","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116497031416315359","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=764987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/764988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=764987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=764987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=764987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}