16-year-old Jeannette boy ordered to trial as adult on charges of shooting 17-year-old
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A 16-year-old Jeannette boy will stand trial as an adult on attempted homicide and related charges in connection with the shooting of a 17-year-old boy in the city in April.
District Judge Joseph DeMarchis ruled there was sufficient evidence presented at the preliminary hearing Wednesday for Desean Ingram for him to stand trial on charges of aggravated assault, attempted homicide, possession of a firearm by a minor, reckless endangerment and simple assault after listening to testimony from the teen victim and his mother.
The victim, whose left hand is still bandaged and in a splint after allegedly being shot just before 6 p.m. April 7 in the 600 block of Lowry Avenue, told DeMarchis that Ingram fired “at least seven shots,” striking his left hand with one round. He said Ingram, a ninth grader at Jeannette High School, fired at him as he attempted to run to safety.
The shooting victim is a senior at the high school, according to testimony. He said he suffered a broken bone in one finger and nerve damage.
Under questioning by Assistant District Attorney Leo J. Ciaramitaro, the youth told DeMarchis that Ingram and Ingram’s older brother, Brandon, 24, twice came to his residence looking for the victim’s 19-year-old brother and a friend to settle a dispute.
“Desean wanted to fight my friend, and Brandon (Ingram) wanted to fight my older brother. I didn’t know what it was about,” the victim testified.
The victim’s mother later told DeMarchis that Brandon Ingram told her he was angry at the victim’s older brother because he claimed “the victim’s older brother was harassing (the younger Ingram).”
After the victim told both Ingrams that his older brother was not home, the victim said he told Brandon Ingram that he’d “stand in” for his older brother and fight him outside.
“Brandon told me, ‘I don’t fight… I shoot,’ ” the victim testified.
The victim’s mother testified when she heard the “shooting” comment from Brandon Ingram, she retrieved a handgun for her family’s safety. Ciaramitaro noted as he questioned the woman that her firearm was purchased legally and she has a valid “concealed carry permit.”
The victim and his mother testified that the Ingram brothers walked away but returned to the residence with several other people about an hour later. In the meantime, the victim’s mother said she telephoned her 19-year-old son, who said he did not know Desean Ingram.
When the Ingrams returned, the 17-year-old victim and his mother said Brandon Ingram agreed to a physical altercation outside.
“I said, ‘Just go out and fight him in the street,’ ” the victim’s mother said she told her younger son.
“My son got the best of him. But then Brandon told Desean, ‘Shoot him,’ ” the woman told DeMarchis.
The victim said he looked toward Desean Ingram and saw the ninth grader pull a handgun from under his jacket and point it toward him.
“I just got up and started running up the hill (on Locust Street). I turned and could see him firing shots at me,” the boy said.
Finally, the youth testified he ran out of the range from the shooting.
“I looked down to see if I was shot, and there was blood everywhere … on my shorts, and my left hand was hit. My middle finger was shot,” the victim said.
The victim’s mother admitted she fired her handgun when she saw her son being shot at. Police said the Desean Ingram was hit in his thigh and required hospital treatment.
District Attorney John Peck said Ingram was the only person facing charges because the woman was firing back at Desean Ingram in defense of her son, according to court papers filed by Jeannette police and Westmoreland County detectives.
Brandon Ingram is not charged.
Desean Ingram’s attorney, Owen M. Seman of Murrysville, asked DeMarchis to set a bond for the teen and “allow him to go home with his mother.”
Seman noted Desean Ingram has no prior criminal record.
However, Ciaramitaro countered that a denial of bond was appropriate for the allegations.
“Yes … he had no criminal record until he tried to kill someone. The testimony was that the defendant fired seven shots at the victim. Only by the grace of God, (the victim) was struck only once,” Ciaramitaro said.
DeMarchis agreed with Ciaramitaro, noting the shooting occurred during daylight hours along one of the busiest streets in the city.
“I believe (setting no bond) was the proper action. The actions here showed wanton indifference toward the safety of the community, and I cannot in good conscience entertain a bond here,” DeMarchis said.
Desean Ingram was remanded to the juvenile detention center.