Dominique Isaac Harris, 31, of Philadelphia, who brutally murdered his former Wendy’s co-worker last year in Bensalem Township, was sentenced on June 1 to spend the rest of his life in prison.
He 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’ vicious 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 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.
“We love you Michael. Not a day goes by that you are not on our minds,” his stepfather read. “In us, you will live forever.”
McHugh commended the family for the peaceful and forgiving nature and their impactful words. Turning to Harris, the judge said allowing him to leave a state prison would mean risking another murder in the community, and sentenced him to the mandatory sentence of life without parole.
“What you did was ruthless, it was unnecessary and it was criminal,” he said.
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.
“Dominique Harris was unrelenting. This was personal,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Kristin McElroy told jurors during closing arguments in April.
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 Pickens was stabbed 46 times, with more than half to his head and neck area, and some so deep that they pierced his lung.
After the sentencing, McElroy praised the work of detectives with the Bensalem Police Department and the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, who made an arrest within 24 hours of the attack being committed.
