Police say Adamsburg man made calls from prison in attempt intimidate witness

An Adamsburg man accused of involvement in a drive-by shooting this month was charged Friday on state police accusations that he made repeated phone calls from the Westmoreland County Prison, asking a witness not to attend to his preliminary hearing, according to court papers.

Troopers also said Nino S. Manno, 20, used the jail’s phones to call a boy and ask him to remove a rifle from Manno’s home. The gun, which was buried in Indiana County by the boy and a friend, was recovered by police, according to court papers.

Police charged Manno with intimidation of a witness, hindering apprehension, possession of a firearm by a minor and related offenses.

Manno and three others were arrested this month in connection with a March 2 drive-by shooting in Mt. Pleasant Township. Their target, according to police, was a home on Poker Road, just off Route 982 in the village of Mammoth. The house was damaged by bullets while people were inside. It did not appear from court papers that anyone was hurt.

Troopers said they did numerous interviews that led them to file charges against Manno, Ronan D. Hunter, 18, and Joshua James Gross, 21, both of Jeannette, and Jaron Malik Haten-McCoy, 21, of Greensburg.

Police reported listening to numerous recorded phone calls Manno made from the Hempfield jail to one of the witnesses between March 4 and Wednesday, the day of preliminary hearings scheduled for three of the suspects. Manno said in an aggressive manner during the calls that the witness should not attend the hearing, according to court papers.

In another call, Manno reportedly directed the boy to a specific spot in Manno’s home where a gun was stashed, police said. Manno told the boy to take it as a birthday present, according to court papers.

Manno did not have an attorney listed in the new case. Bail was set at $100,000, on top of the $500,000 bail set in the Mt. Pleasant Township case.

Hunter, Haten-McCoy and Manno are charged with aggravated assault, discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, conspiracy and a weapons violation in connection with the shooting. Gross is charged with conspiracy.

Preliminary hearings are set for Wednesday. All are being held at the jail after failing to post bail.