Shooting suspect faces trial
A man who allegedly wounded a teenager during a shootout in a Uniontown housing complex earlier this month will have his day in court.
Uniontown police Detective Donald M. Gmitter said Harold Allen Jones II, 20, of Pershing Court, Uniontown, was charged last week before Magisterial District Judge Brenda Cavalcante with aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, illegal possession of a firearm, altering or obliterating marks of identification on a firearm and possession of a firearm with an altered manufacturer’s number. Gmitter said Jones shot Darroll Gregg, 17, of Uniontown in Pershing Court around 4:40 p.m. June 3 following several weeks of gunplay between the two.
During a preliminary hearing held Tuesday before Senior Magisterial District Judge Robert Breakiron, Gregg told Assistant District Attorney Peter U. Hook that he is not sure who shot him because he blacked out when the gun was drawn on him.
Gregg, also known as Baby D, testified that he was shot in the left ankle during the incident in Pershing Court but could not identify his attacker.
However, Gregg’s aunt, Sheri Jones of Uniontown, testified that she witnessed the shooting and saw Harold Jones, also known as J.J., chasing her nephew around a car and then watched him shoot Gregg.
“J.J. shot him in the leg,” Sheri Jones testified. “I was standing in front of him. He could have shot me, too.”
Sheri Jones testified that Harold Jones then tried to shoot Gregg again but the clip fell out of the gun.
She testified that he then fled the scene.
Gmitter said in his affidavit of probable cause that the incident occurred when Harold Jones confronted Gregg because Gregg had threatened him with a gun multiple times in the weeks leading up to the shooting.
Harold Jones told police that the teen would pull a handgun whenever he was near and fire the weapon into the air.
A few days before the shooting, Harold Jones and the boy had a physical altercation, during which the teen allegedly pistol-whipped him.
When Harold Jones went to a vehicle where the teen was sitting, Gmitter said that Gregg pulled a gun and fired it at him.
At that point, Harold Jones pulled his own gun and shot the boy in the ankle.
Two handguns were recovered following the incident, Gmitter said.
No charges have been filed against Gregg, but Gmitter said additional charges are pending further investigation.
Following testimony Tuesday, Breakiron held all charges against Jones for Fayette County Court.
In addition to the charges related to the shooting, Gmitter said Jones was arraigned Wednesday on a warrant issued from Trumbull County, Ohio, on aggravated trespassing charges.
Jones remains in the Fayette County Prison on a combined $30,000 straight cash bond.
A hearing regarding the charges from Ohio will be held at the Fayette County Courthouse at a later date.
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