NEW PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Led away in handcuffs, Lamour Branch of Port Carbon was seen on Wednesday being taken out of Schuylkill County District Court.
The 19-year-old is accused of killing New Philadelphia teens Angelito Caraballo and Hunter Mock back in October of last year.
"I want them to pay for what they did to them," said Karen Simmons.
Karen Simmons of New Philadelphia said the last eight months of no answers have taken a toll on the community and especially the boys' mothers.
"When he got killed, she came up the street crying and everything, and those kids are good. They didn't bother nobody," added Simmons.
According to court paperwork, when Branch was locked up on unrelated burglary charges, he told a fellow inmate that he intended to kill Mock and a girl, but Caraballo came along to the wooded area off Ferndale Road. Officers say Branch admitted to shooting Mock in the head. An autopsy revealed that Caraballo was stabbed to death. Police say he was an innocent bystander only killed after witnessing Mock's Murder.
"It will never be the same. This is hitting so close to home and the age of the poor people that were murdered and the reasons, it's inconceivable," said Thomas Dalvet of New Philadelphia.
Since the murders, Dalvet said the borough has never been the same. That's why he believes that if Branch is guilty, he should be held responsible for the crime that took two young lives.
"I hope that the guilty party pays severely. I'm a strong believer in the death penalty. If you're guilty enough to go that far, we don't want you back out," added Dalvet.
Lamour Branch is locked up on homicide charges. He's due back in court next week.