North Hills Man Pleads Guilty to Murder

Andre “Dre” Dula, 23, of the unit block of North Hills Avenue, pleaded guilty Monday to third-degree murder stemming from the shooting death of William Butler near the North Hills train station, according to a Phillyburbs.com story.

Dula, who was originally charged with first-degree murder, took a limited plea agreement, and will likely be sentenced to 6-and-a-half to 9 years in prison, the story continued.

The shooting happened July 17 of last year shortly after 9:30 p.m. According to officials, Dula shot Butler during a confrontation; Butler died at about 90 minutes later at Abington Memorial Hospital.

At Dula’s preliminary hearing, the victim’s brother, Kevin Butler, testified that he was a backseat passenger in a vehicle that was looking for Dula. They found Dula, and Kevin Butler then testified that he saw his brother throw a punch at Dula and then turn away and run from Dula.

He said he saw Dula chase the victim, and as Dula approached the bottom of a hill on other side of the underpass, he witnessed Dula reach for something at his hip; Dula then continued to chase the victim up the hill with his arm extended holding a firearm.

Kevin Butler said he heard three rapid shots in succession and then saw Dula run in the opposite direction from which he was originally walking. 

According to a Mainlinemedianews.com story, Dula and the victim had been arguing for two days prior to the shooting. Montgomery County Deputy District Attorney Christopher Maloney said:

“It is your classic senseless act of violence, senseless murder. This was a squabble over incidental things. It was a family squabble over social media, text messaging, that just escalated and no one was able to put the brakes on it.”