Former convict charged in West Chester killing

A former convict described as a "walking time bomb" was arrested Tuesday and charged with spraying bullets in a West Chester neighborhood last week, killing a 23-year-old Philadelphia man.

James J.E. Potts Jr., 28, should have been in a Philadelphia halfway house when the gunfire erupted at 2 a.m. Friday, officials said.

He has been charged with fatally shooting Towayne Uqdah at the corner of Chestnut and North Matlack Streets, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said in a statement.

Multiple shots were fired, nine of which hit Uqdah, officials said. Another bullet went through the window of a residence where a couple was sleeping, and another round went through the coat of a witness at the scene.

Potts, who lists residences in West Chester, Downingtown, and Philadelphia, has been charged with first-degree murder, reckless endangerment of other people, firearms offenses, and related crimes.

Hogan said Potts has prior convictions for drug dealing in West Chester, firearms offenses, escape, assault, and resisting arrest. He was on parole at the time of the killing and was supposed to be at a halfway house in Philadelphia, according to the prosecutor.

"West Chester is a safer place today because James Potts has been arrested, locked up, and charged with murder," Hogan said. "Potts is a convicted felon and gun-toting drug dealer, a walking time bomb."

West Chester Police Chief Scott L. Bohn said Potts was located and taken into custody Tuesday morning by tactical teams in the borough.

"The nature and circumstances of this case illustrate the brutal nature of this crime and the actor who committed it," Bohn said. "This was an ambush on the streets of West Chester, in the area of residential dwellings and on the cusp of our town center."

Bohn said the investigation was continuing.