Second suspect charged in fatal Washington shooting
Jon Andreassi
A second suspect has been charged in the April shooting that left a Washington man dead.
Washington police last week charged William Howell with felony counts of homicide and conspiracy in connection with the April 28 killing of Nasstylejah Wilkerson in the city.
Wilkerson, 28, was shot multiple times when he went outside a residence in the 100 block of West Walnut Street to retrieve a bank card, and he later died at UPMC Washington Hospital. A witness told police she saw her neighbor’s vehicle leaving the scene, and investigators were eventually able to locate it abandoned at a grocery store’s parking lot on Washington Pike in South Fayette. Video surveillance from the area showed two men getting out of the car and leaving it behind.
The neighbor told police she loaned her car to Trevon McCrary, who is accused of shooting Wilkerson and was charged the following day with homicide. During the investigation, city police said they found the neighbor had received phone calls from McCrary and a cellphone number linked to Howell, according to court documents.
Howell was on parole at the time of the shooting, so his electronic ankle monitor put him in the “immediate area” where Wilkerson was killed and where the vehicle was abandoned, according to court documents.
Online court documents show Howell, 24, of Mount Oliver, was arrested May 30 on felony charges of possession of a prohibited firearm and receiving stolen property out of Allegheny County. It’s unclear if those gun charges are related to the shooting in Washington County. Howell has been held at the Allegheny County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond since his arrest.
Washington police charged him July 2 with felony counts of homicide and conspiracy, along with misdemeanor charges of unauthorized use of a vehicle and three counts of reckless endangerment. It’s not known when he will be brought back to Washington County to be arraigned on the homicide charge.
Howell’s public defender, Amita Maram, who is representing him in the Allegheny County case, did not respond to a phone message Wednesday afternoon seeking comment.
Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh said McCrary, 30, of Washington, is also in custody in Allegheny County. It’s not known when he might be transported back to Washington County to face the homicide and other charges in connection with the fatal shooting.