Two charged with attempted homicide in Uniontown shooting
DA seeks to charge juvenile as adult
A Uniontown man and a juvenile are in custody after they were accused of attempting to kill two people who were driving by them in Uniontown Tuesday afternoon.
The 14-year-old, referred to in court paperwork as J.C., is alleged to have fired seven rounds at two people in a car passing by on Coffee Street. He is facing charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person in juvenile court.
Jamal Ford, 20, was arraigned Wednesday morning in criminal court on the same charges, plus carrying firearms without a license and unauthorized possession of a weapon.
Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele said the shooting appeared to be targeted. He said he would explore asking the court for permission to charge the juvenile as an adult.
“It’s obviously a very, very serious offense that will be treated very seriously … He fired what we believe were seven shots into an occupied vehicle, which endangered not only the two in the car but also the entire community in broad daylight. We believe it’s an adult crime.”
According to court documents, surveillance footage showed Ford and J.C. walking along Coffee Street toward Bailey Avenue, with Ford carrying a backpack.
As a vehicle passed them traveling toward Gallatin Avenue, J.C. then pulled a handgun from his waistband and fired seven rounds at the occupants, Ryi’Jai Harris and Car’mya Neal, the complaint said.
Both occupants were taken to WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital, according to the complaint. Harris was treated for a gunshot wound to the arm and a graze wound to the face, according to court paperwork. Aubele said Harris was later taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., where he was in stable condition as of Wednesday afternoon.
At the hospital, Neal identified Ford and J.C. as the shooters, according to court paperwork. Uniontown officers obtained suspect photos taken from surveillance footage and provided them to plainclothes detectives with the Fayette County Bureau of Investigation. They found two males wearing the same outfits in Grant Park, as well as a multi-colored backpack matching the one Ford carried in the video, the complaint said.
Ford and J.C. were taken into custody without incident, according to court documents.
“I appreciate the quick and decisive work of our task force, of Uniontown City Police and the state police to apprehend these individuals so quickly, and to ensure that there was no further danger in the community,” Aubele said.
Inside the backpack, police found a 9mm handgun with a bullet in the chamber and 32 rounds, the complaint said. Police also recovered a 9mm pistol equipped with an optic and loaded with 18 rounds.
Seven shell casings were found at the scene of the shooting, six of them belonging to OZK 24 9mm cartridges, the same type of ammunition found in the pistol.
District Judge Jason Cox denied Ford bond.
He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on July 9.