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Man held for court on gun incident charges

By Steve Ferris 3 min read

A Uniontown man will stand trial for allegedly firing a gun at a father and son while they were on their way to open their barbeque restaurant in the city on May 14. The bullet missed the alleged victims but hit a parked vehicle. Raymond Robinson, 25, of 9 Hickle St. was held for court Monday on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person that were filed by city police.

Magisterial District Judge Mark L. Blair held the charges for court after a preliminary hearing.

The case against Robinson will be forwarded to county court, where he will stand trial or accept a plea agreement. He remains free on bail.

Carl Clarke of North Union Township testified that he was in Barbeque Heaven, the Searight Avenue restaurant that his son Curtis Clarke owns, on May 13 around 9 p.m. when he saw Robinson and another man outside.

Under questioning from District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon, Carl Clarke said he sensed there was going to be trouble, so he told Curtis Clarke to drive his younger brother home.

He said his son’s fianc?e stopped in and he went outside and overheard Robinson say that Curtis Clarke was lucky to be alive.

Carl Clarke testified that when Curtis Clarke returned, he didn’t tell him what he overheard, but told him that he wanted to close the restaurant for a while.

They closed and went home, but they returned to reopen around 12:30 a.m. May 14 in hopes of getting some customers from a bar across the street, he said.

Carl Clarke said Curtis Clarke was driving and he was in the passenger seat, traveling on Dunlap Street on the way to the restaurant, when Carl Clarke saw Robinson along the road. He testified that Robinson pulled out a gun and fired a shot at the car

He said he ducked and told his son to keep driving, and they continued to the Uniontown police station.

Clarke said he has a heart condition and went to Uniontown Hospital after feeling a cold sweat. He was admitted and stayed two days recovering from what his doctor said was an anxiety attack, he testified.

Under cross-examination from defense attorney David W. Kaiser, Clarke said he didn’t know Robinson or have any problems with him before the incident.

He said two other people were with Robinson when he saw him along Dunlap Street.

Curtis Clarke testified that he heard a gunshot seconds after passing Robinson on Dunlap Street, but didn’t see who fired it.

“Dad said, ‘Keep driving. He’s got a gun,'” the younger Clarke said, adding that he reached for his gun after he heard the shot. He said he has a license to carry a firearm.

Under cross-examination, he said the bullet missed his car but hit a truck.

The younger Clarke also said he believes his father went to the hospital the day after the incident.

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