Uniontown man ordered to stand trial in 2016 shooting death
A Uniontown man was held for court Wednesday for allegedly firing a fatal shot through a window, killing a mother of six on Nov. 4, 2016.
Ronald “Raz” Crossland, 30, reportedly confessed in January to killing Jacqueline Nicole Carey, telling investigators, “I didn’t want anyone to die.”
Carey was reportedly shot when she looked out the window of her sister’s Uniontown home at 31 Farragut St. during a party to celebrate the life of their late father.
Carey’s sister, Ariel Carey, testified she had never met Crossland when he arrived at the party uninvited with Michael Hall. An argument broke out, but she said she was unsure what caused the conflict.
Crossland reportedly told investigators in January he was upset that someone at the party pushed him to the ground, so he fired shots at the ground outside.
Cairae Fitzgerald, who was also at the party, testified she saw Crossland pull a gun from a drawstring bag and brandish it.
The witnesses testified they did not hear threats or see physical violence like punching. Carey said the men left once they were asked to leave around 9:45 p.m.
Soon, Carey testified, she heard a tapping sound.
“I hear that, and I hear my sister scream and I hear a loud bang,” she testified.
She said she found her sister on the floor and thought she passed out. Carey rushed outside and saw Uniontown City Police Lt. Tom Kolencik, who was called to the address for a report of shots fired. She told him she heard shots fired.
“She asked if I could call an ambulance, that her sister fell down,” he testified.
He found Jacqueline Carey leaned against the cabinet not breathing. She had no apparent injuries, he said. He began CPR and called for the ambulance to hurry.
It was not until Carey was taken to the trauma room at the hospital that doctors discovered a gunshot wound and removed a bullet from her chest, he said. She was pronounced dead at Uniontown Hospital at 10:22 p.m.
Police found seven shell casings in the yard in front of the home, bullet markings in the house and a marking in the window frame, Kolencik said. The partygoers directed police to Hall and Crossland, who were found nearby at 8 Searights Ave. Hall was found on the porch near a Hi-Point semi-automatic 9-mm Luger pistol. Crossland was found sleeping on a couch with the drawstring bag on his back. Kolencik said a digital scale and 10.6 grams of marijuana were found in the bag.
Both men were taken into custody and later released.
Crime lab analysis indicated the pistol matched evidence collected on the scene. Both Hall and Crossland tested positive for gunshot residue. The test determines whether a person recently fired a gun, or whether a gun was fired near the person, Kolencik testified.
Crossland is a felon not to possess a weapon due to previous firearm and drug convictions, according to Kolencik.
Crossland’s private attorney, Vincent Tiberi, argued not enough evidence was presented at the preliminary hearing to tie his client to the crime. He emphasized both men tested positive for gunshot residue, no one saw Crossland fire shots and the gun was found near Hall.
“(Crossland) is outside, and seconds later shots are fired through the window, judge,” argued Assistant District Attorney Robert Harper, calling the act “extreme recklessness.”
Magisterial District Judge Michael Metros held all of Crossland’s charges for the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas. Crossland is charged with third degree murder, discharge of firearm into occupied structure, possession of drug paraphernalia, prohibited possession of a firearm, possession with intent to deliver and possession of a controlled substance.
He is held in Fayette County Prison without bail.