By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — An armed duo who watched as their two accomplices were shot to death last year when the owner of a Harlem supply store took justice into his own hands pleaded guilty Wednesday to robbery.
Shamel McCloud, 21, and Bernard Witherspoon, 22, admitted that they barged into Kaplan Blue Flame Corporation on 125th Street as part of a looting foursome on Aug. 13, 2009 with the intention of robbing the store.
They attacked a store employee until the shop's owner, Charles Augusto, pulled out a shotgun from behind a counter and opened fire, killing James Morgan, 29, and Raylin Footman, 21, according to reports from the incident.
The store owner, acting in self-defense and using a registered weapon, has not been charged for the shooting.
McCloud and Witherspoon were both wounded. They are each expected to get five years in prison and five years post-release supervision when they are sentenced on March 11.
