Ke'Shawn Maurice Carter, a 20-year-old Black / African American male from the Harrisburg area, was killed on the night of October 7, 2021, after police were called to the East Park Gardens Apartments in Swatara Township, Dauphin County. Officers responded around 9:00 p.m. to the 200 block of Francis L. Cadden Parkway for a reported shooting and found Carter dead in the parking lot.
Early reports described the scene as chaotic: witnesses heard gunfire, saw people running from the area, and also reported others leaving in a vehicle. Police searched the area after containing it, but the suspects were not found that night.
At first, investigators publicly asked for help and offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. The victim was later identified by Swatara Township Police as Keshawn, or Ke'Shawn, Maurice Carter of Lower Paxton Township. Reports said Carter was found in the parking lot of the apartment complex, and one later account said he had been shot while sitting in a parked vehicle at East Park Gardens. The investigation moved quickly as detectives collected tips and spoke with witnesses.
On October 13, 2021, Swatara Township Police announced the arrest of Steven Roman, a 16-year-old from Steelton. Although Roman was a juvenile at the time, authorities charged him as an adult with murder and related charges in Carter's death. Police said Roman was being held while awaiting preliminary arraignment, and at the time of the arrest they emphasized that the case remained active and that additional charges could still be filed.
Later court reporting filled in more of the alleged background to the shooting. Prosecutors said Roman had driven to the 200 block of Francis L. Cadden Parkway to deliver marijuana to Carter shortly before 9:00 p.m. According to Dauphin County prosecutor Amy Schwartzl, Carter tried to leave with the marijuana without paying after Roman arrived at the East Garden Apartments. Roman then drew a gun and shot Carter twice. Prosecutors said Roman fled afterward, leaving the marijuana on or near Carter's body in front of a parked vehicle, while neighbors recalled hearing two gunshots and then a vehicle leaving the parking lot.
Roman ultimately resolved the case through a plea rather than a trial. At age 17, he pleaded guilty in December to third-degree murder in the killing of Ke'Shawn Carter, along with possession of a firearm without a license to carry and conspiracy to deliver marijuana. Prosecutors said the defense had tried to have the case moved out of adult court and into juvenile court, but about a year after Carter's death Roman accepted a plea agreement.
Dauphin County Judge Edward Marsico sentenced Roman to eight to 20 years in state prison. The sentence for the murder case was ordered to run concurrently with the firearm and marijuana-related sentences. Prosecutor Amy Schwartzl said third-degree murder fit the facts of the case given Roman's age and the circumstances, and she said Roman took responsibility and expressed remorse during the guilty plea. The case closed with a prison sentence rather than remaining unsolved, with Roman identified as the arrested suspect and convicted defendant in Carter's killing.
