Levittown triple murder suspect Andre Gordon Jr. arraigned; Bucks County DA seeks death penalty

The Bucks County District Attorney's Office will seek the death penalty against Andre Gordon Jr. who was arraigned Wednesday on murder charges and related offenses in his alleged March 16 violent crime spree that left three dead in Levittown.

"I am putting this defendant on notice," said District Attorney Jennifer Schorn during the brief court proceedings before Falls District Judge John Galloway.

The announcement was unusual since typically the DA's office will wait until shortly before formal arraignment to decide whether to certify a capital murder case. In this case, though, two aggravating factors, multiple killings and great risk to others, are known to exist, she said.

Gordon, 26, had been incarcerated in New Jersey since his arrest on charges both in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He waived his extradition rights Wednesday, essentially meaning he did not fight his return to Pennsylvania to face charges here.

At his appearance Gordon, wearing an orange Mercer County jail jumpsuit, answered most questions with a “Yes, sir," though he initially indicated he did not understand when Galloway explained the purpose of the preliminary arraignment.

When Galloway asked if he understood, Gordon, who did not have a legal representative with him, answered “Not really," and later responded to another question, "I have the right to remain silent?"

Galloway ordered Gordon held without bail and barred him from contacting eight individuals, including family members, his minor children, and a victim of a carjacking he is charged with committing.

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Gordon is accused of a March 16 crime spree that started in Trenton, New Jersey, moved to Falls Township, Bucks County, before ending nine hours later in Trenton when he was arrested near the home where he had barricaded himself.

He faces charges in both states, including more than two dozen in Bucks County among them three counts each of first and second degree murder in the shooting deaths of his stepmother Karen Gordon, 52, and sister Kera Gordon, 13, and his ex-girlfriend and mother of his children, Taylor Daniel.

“The evidence is so strong in this case, “ Schorn said while arguing against bail for Gordon.

Authorities allege Gordon, who is homeless, carjacked a woman at gunpoint in Trenton before driving to his family’s Viewpoint Lane home shortly before 9 a.m. where, after a confrontation with his father, he allegedly broke the front door window and fired into the home, killing Karen and Kera Gordon.

At the arraignment, Schorn said that Gordon's father, Andre Gordon Sr., was an eyewitness to the shootings and that his 14-year-old daughter hid in a closet underneath a pile of clothing.

After the shooting on Viewpoint Lane, police allege that Gordon allegedly drove less than three miles to the Edgewood Lane home of his Daniel, 25, where he broke down a door and entered the house.

He allegedly shot Daniel in front of the couple’s two daughters, ages 3 and 5, who Schorn said were no more than 2 feet away from their mother when she was killed.

Daniel’s mother, Nancy, fought off Gordon using a wood ax handle, but she suffered a facial injury after Gordon hit her with his semi-automatic assault-style rifle, police say.

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After leaving Daniel’s home, Gordon allegedly ditched the stolen car in Morrisville before carjacking a second person at gunpoint in the parking lot of the Dollar General on Bristol Pike and returning to Trenton New Jersey.

He abandoned the second stolen car near the 100 block of Phillips Avenue in Trenton where he holed up in the home of relatives, police said. He changed his appearance, cut his hair, and slipped out of the house, until a friend of his family recognized him.

Trenton police apprehended Gordon on New York Avenue, a few blocks from the Phillips Avenue home, authorities said.

Trenton police allegedly found a multi-caliber semi-automatic assault rifle, which New Jersey authorities described as an untraceable, illegal  "ghost gun” in the Phillips Avenue home.

Police believe it's the weapon that Gordon used in the carjacking in New Jersey and the murders and carjacking in Bucks County.

In the home, police also found extended round magazines, hollow-point bullet cartridges, electronic devices and clothing believed to be worn by Gordon when he committed the carjackings and murder, according to charging documents.

Following the arraignment, Schorn confirmed that her office and the families of Gordon's alleged victims were anxiously awaiting his return to Bucks County to face charges.

“We have spoken consistently with the families," Schorn added. "They are simply remarkable people. What they have endured its unimaginable. They are anxious to get this process underway.”

Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Levittown shooting suspect Andre Gordon Jr. to face death penalty