Judge denies shooting suspect’s bid to have charges dropped

A Fayette County judge has denied an attempted homicide suspect’s motion to dismiss charges against him, saying if the alleged victim insists he can’t remember now who shot him, prosecutors still have enough evidence to move forward with the case.
Tommy Tase Stargell, 20, of Uniontown, faces charges of attempted homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, illegal possession of a firearm, two counts of simple assault and reckless endangerment for allegedly shooting 23-year-old Brandon Epps on May 14 in Uniontown.
President Judge John F. Wagner Jr. noted in the order handed down Thursday that the defense acknowledges the prosecution has put forth enough evidence to support the fact that the crimes alleged actually happened.
However, Stargell, represented by the Public Defender’s office, claims there’s no evidence it was him who did the alleged shooting, as Wagner pointed out.
“(Stargell) claims there is no substantive evidence to identify him as the shooter due to Mr. Epps’ inability to remember that he had three times previously identified the defendant, and Mr. Epps’ concurrent claim that such identification was the result of hearsay given to him,” Wagner wrote.
At a hearing held last month on the motion, Epps testified that although he twice told police it was Stargell who shot him, and again identified Stargell as the shooter at his preliminary hearing, it was because police suggested Stargell’s name to him and he was reportedly confused.
Wagner determined that the statement Epps made to Uniontown Police Det. Donald Gmitter days after the shooting, as well as the testimony he gave under oath, could be used as substantive evidence against Stargell at trial.
“Detective Gmitter’s police report containing the officer’s rendering of what Mr. Epps told him, including the identification of defendant as the shooter, cannot be admitted as substantive evidence,” Wagner went on to say, “but obviously may be used for impeachment purposes should Mr. Epps persist in his inability to remember who shot him.”
According to police, Stargell allegedly approached Epps on the street and shot him three times, striking his legs, hand and back. Stargell evaded police until Aug. 31, when authorities caught him in Columbus, Ohio.
Stargell will be scheduled for trial at a later date.