City man accused of Halloween night shooting to stand trial, judge rules
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 and the 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 victim in an upstairs bedroom.
City officer Damon Cole immediately applied chest seals to the 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 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 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 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.
This is a developing story.
