A Reading man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for fatally shooting a man during a burglary in Wyomissing in 2019.
Jarren Walker, 36, of the 100 block of North Ninth Street, was found guilty by a jury in October of second-degree murder and related charges following a six-day trial in front of Berks County Judge Benjamin Nevius.
And on Tuesday Nevius sentenced Walker to life in state prison without the possibility of parole, followed by 10 to 40 years.
Walker was convicted of fatally shooting 37-year-old Na’il Salamov after breaking into Salamov’s home in the first block of Birchwood Road about 10 p.m. on May 6, 2019.
Along with the murder count, Walker was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, criminal trespass and conspiracy to commit criminal trespass.
According to police:
Walker and another person went to Salamov’s house to rob him, expecting Salamov not to be home. Salamov was home and confronted the burglars. It is unclear why the home was targeted.
Walker’s accomplice, whom police have yet to identify, pepper-sprayed Salamov, and Salamov grabbed Walker.
As the two men struggled, Walker shot Salamov, who was able to call 911 to report that he had been shot by an intruder and provide dispatchers with a description of his assailant.
Salamov died early the next morning in Reading Hospital.
The initial investigation into the killing wasn’t able to produce suspects. It wasn’t until two years later, in August 2021, that the case was reignited when investigators interviewed an acquaintance of Walker’s who described a conversation with Walker about the murder.
Investigators were then able to use location data from Walker’s phone to place him at Salamov’s home at the time of the killing. Walker was charged with the crime in September 2021.