Reishee Wootsen, an 18-year-old male from Chester, Pennsylvania, was killed by gunfire on July 30, 1993, in a shooting that court testimony later described as growing out of a street fight that did not appear to involve him. Public memorial records identify him as having been lost to gun violence in Chester, and a newspaper account of the trial described him as a city teenager who was sitting on a car and talking with girls when violence broke out nearby.
The case centered on Bryan
Freeman, 29, of the 1400 block of Alexander Place in Chester. Prosecutors said the shooting followed an earlier clash involving Freeman’s brother, Bobby Freeman, and another man, Jermaine Tillman. According to testimony, Bobby Freeman and Tillman were fighting in the street when gunfire erupted. Tillman, who was jailed for firing a weapon during the incident, admitted he returned fire that night with a. 32-caliber gun, but he told jurors that when he looked over, he saw Bryan Freeman with a gun and saw fire coming from it.
The prosecution portrayed Bryan Freeman as the “enforcer” who arrived with a large gun after the conflict involving his brother. Assistant District Attorney Peter Callahan told jurors that Wootsen was not looking for trouble and was essentially caught in the violence around him. The newspaper report stated that no drugs or alcohol were found in Wootsen’s system. Callahan argued that Wootsen ran for his life after the shots rang out, but he did not make it.
Several witnesses testified against Freeman, including inmates William Curry and Arthur Frisby, who said they saw Freeman fire what they described as a big gun, either a. 38 or. 357 magnum, after the fight broke out. The article noted that some prosecution witnesses had serious criminal issues of their own, including pending or suspected involvement in other homicide cases, but prosecutors still relied on their accounts to place the gun in Bryan Freeman’s hands.
The defense attempted to shift the story away from Bryan Freeman as the aggressor. Bobby Freeman testified that he and Bryan had returned to the area unarmed to make peace after a gun had earlier been pulled on him, and that they were shot at instead. Prosecutors attacked that version, and after the verdict, Callahan said the jury had clearly found Bobby Freeman not credible.
Bryan Freeman was acquitted of first-degree murder, the most serious charge, but he was convicted of third-degree murder in Reishee Wootsen’s death. Judge Charles C. Keeler scheduled sentencing for April 20, and the newspaper reported that third-degree murder carried a maximum penalty of 10 to 20 years in jail. Freeman reportedly showed no emotion when the verdict was read, but as deputies escorted him from the courtroom through a back hallway, he began shouting, “No justice, no justice.”
