A Norristown teen, on the run for allegedly killing a bystander, has been arrested

A Norristown teen was charged with murder Thursday for killing a bystander while shooting at a neighborhood rival in October, prosecutors said.

Damien Wilson, 19, was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals in North Philadelphia after being on the run since that shooting. Wilson has been charged with first- and third-degree murder and related crimes in the death of Anthony Vitelli, 47, according to Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele.

“The evidence indicates this was an attempted retaliatory killing that instead killed an innocent man,” Steele said Thursday. “We are working to interrupt this cycle of violence in Norristown and elsewhere in Montgomery County to make our communities safe from these senseless killings by young men with guns.”

On the day of the Vitelli’s death, Wilson was targeting another teen, who prosecutors said was a friend of a teen who shot Wilson in the leg months earlier.

Seeking revenge, Wilson approached his intended target on Hall Street in Norristown as Vitelli was walking by, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Wilson’s arrest. Wilson opened fire at the other teen, who dove out of the way and returned fire. In the crossfire, Wilson struck Vitelli once in the chest, authorities said.

Police rushed Vitelli to Paoli Memorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Vitelli’s wife, Alyson, said Thursday that he was renting an apartment near the shooting, and was preparing to move to Florida just days later to join her and their 9-year-old daughter. The couple would’ve celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary in July.

“He was a great husband and a wonderful father,” she said. “This was all over a senseless act of violence. It could’ve been avoided.”

Vitelli’s sister, Andrea, said news of the arrest was a relief. But nothing, she said, can truly bring back her brother.

Detectives eventually learned the identity of Wilson’s intended target, who in turn helped them identify Wilson, the affidavit said. They then obtained a search warrant for Wilson’s cellphone and uncovered text messages between him and his ex-girlfriend in which they discussed the murder, and she encouraged him to lie low as police searched for him, the document said.

Wilson remained in custody Thursday, denied bail. There was no indication he had hired an attorney.