Washington man sentenced to prison for drive-by shooting in city
A Washington man who fired multiple shots into another vehicle during a drive-by shooting in the city last year was sentenced Thursday to state prison.
Judge Valarie Costanzo sentenced 27-year-old Russell I. Porter to serve 12 to 24 years in prison after he was convicted by a Washington County jury on charges of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment in connection with the shooting.
Porter leaned out of the window of his car and fired six gunshots into a passing vehicle in the 100 block of East Wylie Street on July 26, 2022, although no one was injured. He was also facing attempted homicide charges, but acquitted on those counts by the jury during his trial in May.
District Attorney Jason Walsh said Porter got into a fight with a man at Lincoln Terrace earlier in the day, and then fired at the vehicle when he saw that person riding in the passenger seat. The driver sped the car through the red light in the intersection in an attempt to get away, but the shooting disabled the vehicle’s brakes, making it difficult to stop. Another vehicle was also struck by a stray bullet.
Porter was arrested two days after the shooting while sitting in a parked car in Chartiers Township with another man, Jamil Carr of Washington, who is charged with the shooting death of 19-year-old Antonio Nelson Martinez outside Jollick Manor in July 2022. The two shootings do not appear to be linked, and it was not known how Porter and Carr know each other.
Porter, who has been jailed without bond since his arrest, will be given credit for time served.