Wesley D. Burnett Jr., a 20-year-old African American male from Hagerstown, Maryland, was found dead on October 20, 2018, along a gravel access road just off Social Island Road in Guilford Township, near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Investigators said he had been shot in the chest. What first appeared as the discovery of a body along a rural road soon unfolded into the story of a marijuana deal that had turned into a planned robbery, an exchange of gunfire, and a frantic effort afterward to hide
what had happened.
According to investigators, Issayah Juwan Fostion arranged to meet Cole Robinson to buy marijuana. Fostion, however, allegedly planned with Darius Jacob Taylor to rob Robinson instead of completing the purchase. Taylor was not present at the shooting, but police said he helped coordinate the plan and sent Burnett in his place. Robinson arrived with Anthony R. Bernardo Jr., and Burnett and Fostion went to the meeting armed. At the scene, Burnett approached the vehicle, drew a gun, and gunfire broke out. Court records later described Burnett as firing first, and Bernardo firing back, striking him. Burnett fled from the immediate scene but died nearby.
After the shooting, authorities said Fostion moved Burnett and placed him along the access road where he was later found. The Appeal reported that Fostion called Taylor after the shooting, and that Taylor told him to take Burnett to a hospital, but Fostion feared getting in trouble and instead left him by the roadside before fleeing. Police later located Fostion in Berkeley County, West Virginia. Robinson and Bernardo were also located, charged, and jailed in Franklin County.
Four men were arrested in connection with the death. Fostion, of Hagerstown, was initially charged with second-degree murder, attempted robbery, and carrying a firearm without a license. Taylor, also of Hagerstown, was first charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, and prosecutors later amended the case to include criminal homicide under Pennsylvania’s felony-murder theory. Robinson, of Chambersburg, was charged with second-degree murder, attempted unlawful delivery of marijuana, and conspiracy to commit unlawful delivery. Bernardo, also of Chambersburg, was charged with second-degree murder, attempted unlawful delivery, and conspiracy to commit unlawful delivery.
The later court outcomes separated the men’s roles more sharply. Bernardo went to a bench trial and argued self-defense. The judge found him not guilty of homicide and attempted murder, concluding that his self-defense claim prevailed. He was convicted instead of attempted delivery of marijuana, conspiracy to deliver marijuana, and carrying a firearm without a license. He received consecutive prison terms that added up to 87 to 204 months. On appeal, the Pennsylvania Superior Court later vacated part of the sentence and remanded for resentencing because of an issue involving a deadly-weapon sentencing enhancement, while otherwise affirming key parts of the judgment.
Fostion eventually pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and carrying a firearm without a license. In May 2021, he was sentenced to an aggregate term of 11½ to 23 months in prison, followed by 36 months of probation. After probation violations, he was resentenced more than once. In November 2023, after another violation, the court resentenced him to an aggregate term of 48 to 120 months in state prison. His appeal was later rejected, and the judgment of sentence was affirmed.
Publicly available online records found for this synopsis show clear convictions and sentencing information for Fostion and Bernardo. The same records show that Taylor and Robinson were arrested and charged in connection with the case, but the accessible sources reviewed did not provide a final conviction or sentencing outcome for either Taylor or Robinson.
