A 31-year-old man who murdered his former Wendy’s co-worker last year in Bensalem Township was sentenced June 1, to spend the rest of his life in prison without parole.
Dominique Isaac Harris, of Philadelphia, was convicted of first-degree murder and possession of an instrument of crime on April 20 following a four-day trial where jurors heard testimony and viewed evidence that included surveillance footage that captured Harris’s attack on 54-year-old Michael Pickens, a former co-worker at a Wendy’s restaurant in Bensalem.
Prior to sentencing, Pickens’ mother and her husband appeared before Bucks County Common Pleas Judge Raymond F. McHugh to read a victim impact statement where they described their son as someone who was always there to help others, especially elderly neighbors.
The murder happened as Pickens, of Bensalem, was ending his shift at Wendy’s in the early hours of March 30, 2022. Pickens was taking the trash out when he was confronted by Harris who was lying in wait. Harris had been fired from Wendy’s two months earlier after a fight with Pickens.
The attack lasted several minutes with Harris chasing Pickens down the street and catching him in the parking lot of a nearby beverage store. Harris repeatedly stabbed Pickens who tried fighting him off.
Harris fled the scene after the stabbing, but returned eight minutes later, and twice ran over Pickens with his car. After the second time, Harris got out of the car, loaded Pickens into the backseat and dumped his body a few miles away.
An autopsy showed that Harris was stabbed 46 times, with more than half to his head and neck area and some so deep that they pierced his lung.
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