Gang member convicted of murder for 2020 killing in Bristol Township
BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. – A Trenton, N.J. gang member was convicted of first-degree murder Friday for a January 2020 killing in Bristol Township, according to a PA Crimewatch news release.
A Bucks County jury found Robert S. Christie, 37, guilty of murdering Joshua Mcrae, 31, of Trenton, and leaving his body on Interstate 295, according to the release.
Mcrae’s body was discovered early Jan. 19, 2020, near the Pennsylvania Turnpike onramp in Bristol Township, according to the Crimewatch release.
State Police arrived and found the body of a man, later identified as Mcrae. An autopsy determined Mcrae had been shot five times and his death was ruled a homicide.
Christie was charged last August, along with two other Trenton men, following an exhaustive investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police and Bucks County Detectives, and a recommendation by the Bucks County Investigating Grand Jury.
Christie was convicted of first-degree murder, flight to avoid apprehension, hindering apprehension, possession of an instrument of crime, and abuse of a corpse.
During the weeklong jury trial, Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher W. Rees presented testimony from several witnesses, law enforcement officers and the forensic pathologist examiner.
Evidence presented during the weeklong trial included extensive electronic surveillance, video footage, audio recordings, and cellphone and social media data.
According to the new release, Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher W. Rees presented testimony that Mcrae, Christie, and two other men went to Murphy’s Beef and Ale in Bristol Township on the night of Jan. 18, 2020.
Court records described the incident:
On the drive home, Mcrae, sitting behind Christie in an SVU, said something which Christie found irritating. Christie, a self-professed triple-OG Nine Trey Gangster, testified on his own behalf. He admitted he turned around and shot Mcrae at least five times, then dragged the dying man out of the vehicle and dumped him on the side of the highway in Bristol Township. Outside the SUV, Christie pointed the gun at Mcrae and squeezed the trigger, but the gun was empty. Christie claimed unsuccessfully that he did it in self-defense. “His intent could not be more clear if he showed up wearing a black hooded robe and a sickle,” Rees said in his closing arguments. “His intent was to kill.”
Two cooperating witnesses are awaiting trial on charges of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, abuse of a corpse, and hindering apprehension. One is also facing charges of prohibited possession of a firearm and sales to ineligible transferee.
“It is truly an honor to have assisted in this prosecution with some of the finest law enforcement officers in the Commonwealth. Their doggedness, their ingenuity, and their resolve insured Joshua’s loved ones finally got the justice for which they’ve waited more than three-and-a-half years,” Rees said.
Sentencing will be held on a later date.