Jun 11, 2022 3 min read

All charges against four of the seven co-defendants accused in an April shooting in Charleroi that injured a man were dismissed during a marathon preliminary hearing Friday afternoon, while the other three suspects will stand trial in the case.

Relatives of some of the defendants erupted in cheers in the gallery as District Judge Eric Porter dismissed the cases against Damari Lawson, Trevian Thompson, Tyel Young and Antwon Tucker after hearing more than there hours of testimony during the hearing.

However, Porter decided Kyrese Hall, Michah Craig and Omarion Rainey should stand trial on all charges on multiple counts of criminal conspiracy to commit attempted homicide in the April 23 shooting in which six shots were fired at a house in the 400 block of Sixth Avenue, with one of the bullets grazing a man’s head.

While Charleroi Regional police identified Hall as the shooter in court documents, several witnesses offered varying stories on who fired the shots. Several witnesses pointed in the courtroom to Craig as the person wearing a white coat they thought the shooter was wearing. Meanwhile, others said Rainey had sent threatening messages to one of the boys who was the eventual target of the shooting.

Lamont Pace said he was playing basketball with his brother at Crest Park in the borough when several people came toward them and the two groups got into an argument. Pace said he and his brother left and went home, and that’s when they began receiving threatening text messages that the other group was coming over and there would be trouble. Pace, his brother and their father, Timothy, then went outside to meet the group and words were exchanged for a few moments.

Timothy Pace testified he went out “trying to diffuse” the situation, but as they were walking back into their Sixth Street house, they heard gunshots. Pace pushed his two boys into the house and then was grazed by a bullet above his left eye, he testified during the hearing. The wound was somewhat minor and he declined to receive medical treatment, although he still has a scar, he said.

The group split up and ran away but Charleroi Regional police officers were in the area and responded after hearing the gunshots. Several of the suspects were later arrested later during a standoff with Washington County SWAT officers at a Third Street home.

During testimony, it was unclear who fired the shots or made the threats, prompting Porter to issue the split decision to dismiss all charges against Lawson, 19, of Monessen; Tucker, 19, of Pittsburgh; Thompson, 17, of Monessen; and Young, 19, of Monessen.

Each defendant had his own attorney and they were spread in different seating areas across the courtroom in Washington County Central Court, making it an unusual preliminary hearing.

Hall, 17, of Charleroi, is facing five counts each of attempted homicide and conspiracy to commit attempted homicide, along with charges of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a minor, possession of a firearm without a license, reckless endangerment, terroristic threats and simple assault. Craig, 21, and Rainey, 17, both of Charleroi, each face five counts of conspiracy to commit attempted homicide, along with misdemeanor charges of terroristic threats and conspiracy. The three are being held without bond while they await trial.