Zaire Jones-Wallace PHOTO PROVIDED

Zaire Jones-Wallace will stand trial on charges of criminal attempt homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and possession of instruments of crime for a non-fatal shooting in the 800 block of Park Avenue on Oct. 31, District Judge Aaron Biichle ruled, following a preliminary hearing Tuesday morning.

The courtroom was packed with supporters of both Jones-Wallace, 25, of 1641 Taylor Place, and the alleged victim as a timeline of the incident was laid out by city agents Michael Caschera and Brittany Alexander.

Alexander was the on-call agent the night of the shooting, and recounted having fore-knowledge that there may be issues that night, she testified.

The call came in around 11:30 of a 15-year-old with two gunshot wounds to the chest in the 800 block of Park Avenue, and upon arrival emergency crews located the alleged victim in an upstairs bedroom.

City officer Damon Cole immediately applied chest seals to the alleged victims wounds, after which he was transported to UPMC Williamsport, and ultimately, Geisinger Danville.

A juvenile was interviewed at the scene, but was unable to provide further insight.

A former girlfriend of Jones-Wallace, with whom he maintained a sexual relationship, told police that she had mentioned the party to Jones-Wallace when recently bumped into him while both were at a local club, Alexander testified. The former girlfriend further revealed that she had blocked him from all forms of communication, with the exception of email.

The former girlfriend stressed, however, that Jones-Wallace was an uninvited guest at the party, and after he approached her, she asked the host of the party, the alleged victim, to eject Jones-Wallace.

She stated that as Jones-Wallace was heading down the stairs, she kicked him in the back, at which point he turned around attempting to strike her. Though unsuccessful, the attempt enraged partygoers, many of whom attacked Jones-Wallace, the ex said, according to Alexander.

A video provided to police, and displayed in court, showed the moments leading up to the shooting, during which the alleged victim is seen holding a man in a yellow hoodie, identified as a Jones-Wallace, and leveling punches at his head shortly before the lights in the room cut out and two muzzle flashes are seen as the alleged victim falls backwards.

Despite Jones-Wallace and his ex maintaining that he was assaulted by several individuals, no such evidence was found, the agents testified.

The former lover would later receive an email from Jones-Wallace asking if she was alight. She said she, along with his mother and sister encouraged him to turn himself in, Alexander testified.

Jones-Wallace would turn himself in around 4:30 a.m after being discharged from UPMC, though agents noted that his discharge documents contained very little information pertaining to a diagnosis.

“This is the firearm I used in self defense,” Jones-Wallace allegedly told police as he surrendered at headquarters, according to Alexander.

The statement given to police by Jones-Wallace matched that of his former girlfriend, with the exception of his attempting to punch her after being kicked, according to court testimony.

Jones-Wallace was possibly missing one dreadlock, but showed no signs of bodily injury otherwise, Alexander said.

The alleged victim would not be so lucky, his mother testified.

“He lost his pulse for, I don’t know how long,” she told the judge.

The alleged victim’s lungs filled with blood, necessitating the insertion of chest tubes in order to clear them, and was later placed on a ventilator, according to his mother.

He spent seven days a UPMC Williamsport before being moved to Geisinger Danville due to the need for treatment by a Cardiothoracic Surgeon, she said.

In total, the alleged victim’s lungs, liver, kidney and duodenum were affected by the shooting.

“He hasn’t eaten or drank anything since the night of the party, and still has a feeding tube,” she said, adding that the teen has infection in his back, behind his kidneys that doctors are working to drain.

Doctors describe his condition as “critical, but stable,” his mother testified.

Little argument on the charges was made by First Assistant Public Defender Jeana Longo or Assistant District Attorney Eric Birth, though Longo urged Biichle to amend Jones-Wallace’s bail, which was denied during his preliminary arraignment before District Judge Denise Dieter.

Longo argued that prior to that night’s events, Jones-Wallace had not been in any legal trouble, and had been armed guard for the state.

“He has a baby on the way, his girlfriend is six weeks pregnant, he’s a lifelong resident and he did turn himself in,” she said, stressing that she was not attempting to minimize the injuries inflicted on the alleged victim.

“He didn’t show up to this party guns blazing. When he got there, he didn’t start a fight, he didn’t aim to antagonize anyone,” she said, reminding Biichle of Jones-Wallace and his ex’s accounts of his being jumped by several individuals.

“He came forward, turned himself in and turned the gun over. This is not someone who is going to go on the run and not show up to court,” she said.

However, due to the consequences of his criminal actions, Jones-Wallace has an “inherent incentive to run,” Birth countered.

“This is a 25-year-old man who inserted himself into a high school party, was asked to leave, and did not hesitate to escalate the situation from fists to firearms,” the Assistant District Attorney said.

“This inherent incentive to flee along with his lack of hesitation for escalation constitutes both a flight risk and a danger to the public,” Birth argued.

In the end, Biichle ruled that any modification to Jones-Wallace’s bail would be handled at the Court of Common Pleas level.