Sentence, convictions upheld in Montgomery County church shooting

MONTGOMERYVILLE, Pa. (WPVI) -- A state appeals court has refused to throw out the 10- to 20-year jail term imposed on a man who shot and killed another churchgoer during a Sunday service in a Philadelphia suburb.

PennLive.com reports that the Superior Court panel also Tuesday upheld the voluntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment convictions of 47-year-old Mark Storms of Lansdale.

Authorities said 27-year-old Robert Braxton III became disruptive in Keystone Fellowship Church in North Wales in April 2016. Storms ordered him to leave, showing him a concealed weapons permit and a handgun.

Authorities said Braxton punched Storms, who shot Braxton twice before about 300 worshippers. Storms argued that the shooting was self-defense.

Judge Carolyn Nichols agreed with jurors and a county judge, saying Storms "escalated the situation by interjecting himself and brandishing his weapon."

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Information from: Pennlive.com

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