Reckless Fatal Shooting By Montco Teen Results In Jail Time: Reports

NORRISTOWN, PA — A Montgomery County teenager will be heading to jail after being sentenced in connection with a fatal shooting of a woman he considered to be like an "older sister," according to news reports.

Victor Thomas Bell, Jr., 18, of Norristown, was given 10 to 23 months in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility on misdemeanor charges of involuntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm by a minor, according to a report in the Mercury newspaper.

Patch reported on the case when Bell was arrested early last year.

Related: Montco Teen Shot, Killed Friend While Playing With Loaded Gun: DA

Diamond Rahatt, 23, was killed on Jan. 3, 2021, at around 1:39 p.m. at her home on the 1400 block of Markley Street.

She had been shot by Bell, who police said she knew for six years, and considered to be a younger brother to her.

Bell, who was 16 years old at the time, was playing around with a .40 caliber Springfield Arms handgun at the time when it negligently discharged, shooting Rahatt in the head.

The victim ended up dying the following day after being take to Paoli hospital, Patch previously reported.

The Mercury reported that Bell had been charged as an adult even though he was 16 years old at the time of the shooting, and that a judge had subsequently denied his bid to try and get the case transferred to juvenile court.

In court, Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge William Carpenter reportedly called the matter a "very, very difficult" and "very sad case," according to the Mercury, which said the judge ordered Bell to report to the county jail on Oct. 31 to begin serving out his sentence.

Patch checked court records for the case, but they were not updated to reflect the sentencing.

Bell was originally charged with a third-degree murder count in addition to the other charges, but the murder count was dismissed in exchange for a guilty plea.

In court, Bell reportedly wept while apologizing for the crime, and saying he loved the victim like a sister and never meant for her death to happen.

Bell was reportedly about two feet away from Rahatt when the gun discharged, shooting her in the head.

Montgomery County prosecutors previously stated that Bell, a longtime friend of the victim, posted video of himself playing around with Rahatt's gun shortly before the shooting occurred.

The District Attorney's Office said that Bell immediately left Rahatt's home after the woman was shot.

"Diamond Rahatt had her whole life ahead of her — a life cut short by the reckless handling of a gun," District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a prior statement. "The death of this young woman is a tragedy, and our hearts and prayers go out to her family. The defendant was playing around and taking photos with a loaded gun without any regard for the danger and threat to human life the behavior posed. It was reckless and now a young woman is dead."