A Bucks student is being
held on $1 million bail for his
alleged involvement in a recent
shooting at a Bensalem house
party, according to the
Intelligencer.
James A. Harris, 18, of
Levittown, faces charges of
criminal conspiracy, assault
with a deadly weapon, aggravated
assault, disorderly conduct,
and possession of an
instrument of crime, for his
alleged role in the shooting
that seriously injured 23-yearold
Anshul Rastogi.
“Harris began classes at
Bucks three days before the
shooting occurred,” said Jean
Dolan, assistant director of
public relations at Bucks.
According to Dolan, Harris
was a freshman majoring in
liberal arts.
According to a Courier
Times article, Detective
Jackson and Detective Cannon
talked to a witness that was in
the kitchen at the time of the
dispute. The witness claimed
to have seen Harris breaking
bottles to use as weapons,
before shots were fired. Harris
was not the shooter.
Other evidence and
Facebook images helped
police to determine that Harris
played a role, officals told the
Intelligencer.
According to police, officers
responded to a call on Jan. 23
at approximately 3:45 a.m., at
310 Palton Road in Bensalem
after a homecoming party for a
local Marine went horribly
wrong.
Word about the event spread
through Facebook.
Just when the party was
winding down a resident of the
home noticed that his cell
phone was missing.
The resident and his friends
asked guests if they knew
where the phone was or if anyone
had stolen it. An argument
erupted involving several people
at the party, according to
the police department press
release.
As a result of this, a male
later identified as Daniel
“Rush” Potepa pulled out a
gun and fired several shots
towards the 23-year-old
wounding him severely,
according to the Bensalem
Police Department press
release.
Rastogi was then rushed to
Frankford Aria Hospital where
he underwent emergency surgery
and was listed in critical
condition, according to the
Bensalem Police Department
press release.
According to the Courier
Times, Rastogi spent several
weeks at Thomas Jefferson
Hospital before being released.
The suspected shooter,
Daniel Potepa, was later arrested
and sent to the Bucks
County Correctional Facility
by District Judge Frank
Peranteau where his bail was
set at $3 million.
The Courier Times reported
that a third suspect Augustine
“Lyrico” Kiawu, 24, a gang
member and Liberian national,
was charged last month with
aggravated assault and conspiracy
for his involvement in
the incident.
Witnesses at the party took
photographs on their cell
phones that police used as evidence
to help identify several
suspects, according to
Bensalem police Sgt. Andrew
Aninsman.
“The pictures were one piece
of the investigation that we utilized
to identify suspects,” Sgt.
Aninsman told the Centurion.
The detectives were able to
charge Harris after the witness
identified him through photographs
on Facebook. Police
also received a tip that Harris
was in the kitchen at the time
of the altercation and shooting.
The Facebook party definitely
did not go as planned.
“Unfortunately this was a situation
where the person holding
the party didn’t know
everyone at the party,” said
Sgt. Aninsman.
“I wouldn’t call them
guests,” said Aninsman of
some of the people who
showed up at the party.
The host, who is in his early
twenties, threw the party at his
parents’ house while they were
away, Sgt. Aninsman told the
Centurion. “The parents were
away on a trip, they actually
got a phone call (about the
incident),” said Aninsman.
The two suspects, Harris and
Potepa, must now wait to face
District Judge Joseph Falcone
at their preliminary hearings
on March 17.
.According to police, this
type of incident is rare for the
area.
“A type of incident like this
is absolutely not typical for the
area. It is very rare to have
something like this happen in
Bensalem,” said Sgt.
Aninsman of the incident.