Charges against teen held for court
A Uniontown teen facing felony charges as an adult will stand trial for his role in alleged gang activity after an attack earlier this month left three others suffering injuries. Uniontown police Detective Donald M. Gmitter said Kyle Bass, 16, of 26 Pershing Court was charged before Magisterial District Judge Michael M. Metros last month with more than 10 charges, including felony counts of aggravated assault and riot, as well as misdemeanor charges of recklessly endangering another person and simple assault.
Metros held all charges against Bass to Fayette County Court following a preliminary hearing Tuesday.
Bass is the third suspect charged by Uniontown police to face trial for his alleged actions in the gang attack, and is one of nearly 20 suspects either charged or being investigated by police in relation to the alleged attack.
Demond Wiggan, 16, of 87 Cleveland Ave., Uniontown, and Tre McCargo, 17, of 27 Lenox St., Uniontown, were each charged as an adults with more than a dozen counts last month for their alleged roles in the attack.
All charges against Wiggan were held for court last week following a preliminary hearing and McCargo waived all charges against him to court.
Bass, McCargo and Wiggan remain incarcerated in the Fayette County Prison.
City police arrested the suspects for their alleged involvement in an attack perpetrated by a teenage gang called the Killa Squad, Gmitter said.
Officer Travis Shandor said the attack occurred shortly before 8 p.m. May 10 at 104 Murray Ave.
According to Shandor, Richard Silbaugh, 19, of Fayette City, Kevin Rich, 19, of Uniontown and a Uniontown teenager were sitting on the porch at the residence when between 20 and 30 teenage boys ran out of an alley and started to attack them.
Gmitter said that at least one of the aggressors was wielding a knife and several others were armed with large pipes.
Shandor said that Silbaugh, Rich and the teenager on the porch suffered multiple injuries during the fight and were taken to Uniontown Hospital for treatment.
Gmitter said that the fight occurred because the suspected teenagers wanted to retaliate against Rich after he was allegedly involved in a scuffle several weeks prior to the incident.
“During the course of this investigation, I learned that the suspects involved are part of a gang called the Killa Squad,” Gmitter said. “They use different means of communication to organize criminal activity, including this attack.”
Gmitter said that the alleged gang “uses the strength in numbers tactic to commit their crimes of violence on innocent victims.”
All three of the alleged victims, each of whom testified during the preliminary hearing held for Wiggan, told the court that they were aware of the “Killa Squad” prior to the incident and have dealt with the gang in other altercations. Rich and Silbaugh also testified that the gang is known for attacking people.
While none of the alleged victims testified that they are certain Wiggan is a gang member, they did testify that he was involved in the attack and Rich identified Wiggan as the suspect who cut his hand with a pocket knife, resulting in a wound that required 15 stitches to close.
Silbaugh testified that when the gang approached them May 10 it was obvious they were working in coordination with one another.
“They were in a marching line like a band or an army, one behind another, and they just kept coming at us,” Silbaugh testified.
Rich told the court that the gang specifically targets people and is known for “jumping” their victims.
During the hearing for Bass, defense counsel stipulated to the testimony from Silbaugh and Rich from Wiggan’s hearing and the men were not asked to offer any additional testimony.
Gmitter said that additional charges were filed earlier in May against a 14-year-old suspect who was initially charged as an adult but those charges were later moved to Fayette County Juvenile Court.
Gmitter said warrants also have been issued for Aaron Durkin, 18, of Uniontown and Ramal Oliver Chisler, no address available, for their roles in the incident.
Durkin faces a total of 14 charges and Chisler faces 10 separate counts, Gmitter said.
Gmitter said that in addition to the arrests and warrants already filed, he secured an arrest warrant for another teen charged with intimidation of a witness at Uniontown Hospital following the stabbing.
Gmitter said those charges were filed in Fayette County Juvenile Court.
Gmitter said that additional charges remain pending against 10 other suspects, including at least one more teen that might be charged as an adult.
Anyone with information regarding the incident or the whereabouts of Durkin or Chisler is asked to call police at 724-430-2929.