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Two men sought in June 25 Monessen shooting

By Pat Cloonan pcloonan@heraldstandard.Com 3 min read

Monessen Police Chief John Mandarino said warrants have been issued for two men sought in a June 25 shooting.

A criminal complaint filed with Magisterial District Judge Joseph Dalfonso names Joseph L. Heath III, 27, whose address is unknown but in the past lived in Monessen, as the assailant who allegedly shot Timothy Kershaw, 31, of Monessen.

A Monessen police affidavit said Kershaw was shot in the right thigh and flown to a hospital for treatment after a 3 a.m. encounter with two men along the 1600 block of Summit Avenue.

Heath faces fourteen charges including criminal homicide, conspiracy, robbery, aggravated assault, terroristic threats and reckless endangerment.

His alleged accomplice is identified as Rashawn Taylor Ford, 21, of Monessen, who is named in a criminal complaint on one count of conspiracy to commit criminal homicide.

A man who had been in a car with Kershaw told police the victim asked him for a ride from what was described as a “pre-determined spot for (a) rendezvous.”

The companion told police the pair were leaving when a second car approached, allegedly bringing Heath and Ford to an encounter with him and Kershaw.

“After having his phone taken (by one of the two men, the companion) was told to ‘walk away’ by his assailants,” according to the criminal complaint written by Monessen Police Officer Jeffrey Smaracheck.

One of the assailants “then allegedly said to (the companion) ‘not fast enough,'” after which he ran through several back yards to a place where he later saw Kershaw emerge from a hiding place and try to flee on foot.

However, the companion told police, he saw one of the assailants, later identified as Heath, “raise his handgun, assume a shooting stance and fire one shot in the direction of where Kershaw was running.”

While the other man’s cellphone allegedly was taken by the two suspects, the Westmoreland County 911 center in Hempfield Township said it received a call from a man identifying himself as Kershaw, reporting he was “shot in the leg.”

Kershaw was found shortly thereafter by Smaracheck and Charleroi Regional Police Officer David Kimball, according to the affidavit written by Smaracheck.

Rostraver Township, North Belle Vernon and Donora police and Pennsylvania State Police from Belle Vernon also were involved in the investigation after the Kershaw shooting.

Mandarino said the June 25 shooting is not related to Tuesday’s home invasion where another man was wounded at a home along Reservoir Avenue.

Two men robbed their victim of money and also threatened the man’s wife and a child. Mandarino said that shooting remains under investigation.

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