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That Aaron Coty Lowry came to the defense of a woman who he believed was being threatened by a man in the 400 block of West Third Street was no surprise to the North Carolina native’s family.
“He didn’t believe in violence between a man and a woman. That’s the way he was brought up,” Lowry’s sister-in-law, Crystal Kerns, said.
“He didn’t go for men beating on women. If a man and a woman got into an argument, they should go their separate ways until things cooled down. That’s what he believed,” Kerns said of Lowry.
Lowry was part of a construction crew working on a project here and had been in Williamsport just three weeks when he was shot to death about 2:30 a.m. on June 1.
After work, he and other co-workers went out for a few drinks, city police said.
Days after the shooting, Rashawn Jeffery Williams, 32, of Philadelphia, was arrested and charged with being the alleged gunman.
Kerns, along with Lowry’s mother, wife, aunt and uncle, all made the sad trip from Robeson County, North Carolina, to be here Monday for Williams’ preliminary hearing, which was held at the Lycoming County Courthouse for security purposes.
“He was sticking up for a woman as any man should. That’s what he believed in,” said one of Lowry’s friends, a 21-year-old woman who attended the hearing with his family. She declined to give her name.
Police said Williams allegedly shot Lowry outside the Lamphouse Hooka Lounge after Lowry and a co-worker, Archie Ray Bell, tried to help a woman who was being chased out of the business by Williams. It appeared that Williams allegedly was attempting to assault the woman, police were told.
As Bell told Williams not to assault the woman, Lowry stepped in and raised his arm, police said. Williams then pulled out a gun and allegedly shot Lowry in the chest at close range. Lowry, who ran a few feet before collapsing on the sidewalk, was rushed to the medical center and died in the emergency room.
Lowry’s mother, Tina Locklear, fought back tears during much of the hearing as she listed to testimony from Bell and Agent Kevin Stiles, the arresting officer in the case.
At the conclusion of the 30-minute hearing, District Judge James Carn ruled there was sufficient evidence to hold Williams on charges of criminal homicide and related offenses. Williams remains jailed in the Lycoming County Prison on no bail.
Before attending the hearing, Lowry’s family stopped at the shooting scene and placed fresh roses and balloons near where Lowry died.
“It was very hard. We all teared up. We hated to leave,” Kerns said in describing the family’s emotions in visiting where their loved one was gunned down.
“He was a good, caring, loving father, son, husband and brother-in-law,” Kerns said of Lowry. She served as the family’s spokesman following the hearing.
Lowry, of Maxton, North Carolina, also was survived by a sister, Heather, who was not able to make the trip, and two daughters, Irena and Lexiae.
He always attended Irena’s ballet recitals, and volunteered at the events. Kerns said.
“We miss his joking around. He was the family clown, always making the family laugh” Kerns said.
In the construction trade, the 30-year-old Lowry was known “as a finisher,” having done work on a variety of jobs across the county, Kerns said.
Besides Kerns and his mother, other family members who traveled here for the hearing were Lowry’s wife, Cekina; his aunt, Lucinda Metze, and his uncle, Perry Lowry.
“When the trial starts, we’ll all be here,” Kerns said.
“We’re taking it day by day,” Lowry’s mother said when asked how she had been coping since her son’s death.
“We love him. We miss him, and we hope he gets justice for what happened to him,” Locklear said.