Another person charged in April gunfire incident
A Lyndora man, currently incarcerated on four probation violation detainers, was charged Friday after police say he allegedly tossed a gun following his involvement in an early-April shooting incident.
Jedediah L. Owens-Vickers, 25, was charged with misdemeanor firearms not to be carried without a license and tampering with evidence. He was arraigned before District Judge William Fullerton and bail was set at $25,000. He also continues to be held on the probation detainers.
Butler police said the incident occurred April 5 in the 300 block of North Sixth Avenue, where Owens-Vickers allegedly traded shots with Raheem Robinson, 26, of Pittsburgh, after Robinson allegedly shot a pistol at Owens-Vickers, Kirisa Taimuty, Allyssa Stefanowicz and Taimuty's 2-year-old son about 10:35 p.m. April 5.
No one was injured.
Police said Owens-Vickers then allegedly tossed the gun after running off.
Robinson and Mackenzie Peters, 22, of Butler, were charged April 13 with felony counts of attempted homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide, aggravated assault and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, as well as several misdemeanors, after police say Peters allegedly drove Robinson to the location, circling the block several times before he got out of the car and fired the shots. They are being held in the county prison without bail pending further court proceedings.
Police said witnesses reported that “two males” exchanged gunfire that night, and officers recovered two different shell casings from the scene, including four 9 mm shell casings, three .45-caliber shell cases, a bullet slug, a bullet fragment and several pieces of broken plastic.
Days after the incident, Pittsburgh police found and impounded Peters' car. City police seized evidence from the vehicle including pieces of plastic bumper that matched pieces collected from the crime scene, and a .45-caliber gun was found in Peters' home, police said.
Police said Taimuty reported that she had gotten into an argument with Robinson before the incident, while attempting to get him to give up his parental rights to their unborn twin children. Stefanowicz and Taimuty's 2-year-old son were with her at Peter's home at the time, the criminal complaint states.
Taimuty told investigators that after leaving Peters' home, according to a police affidavit, she was scared and called Owens-Vickers “to come and walk her home.”
Butler police Capt. James Hollobaugh said after the incident, police wanted to speak with Owens-Vickers, but he was unable to be immediately located.
He was then picked up April 19, after being wanted for failure to appear at court hearings for alleged probation violations in four unrelated assault cases. Police found Owens-Vickers riding in a vehicle during a traffic stop for a flashing red light violation on West Cunningham Street.
After his arrest on the warrants, police interviewed Owens-Vickers, who said he went to North Sixth Avenue to walk Taimuty home and “dipped” when the shots began.
Owens-Vickers' story shifted back and forth between saying he didn't shoot back, and then admitting he did, the document states.
“Did I start shooting. Did I have a gun, yeah whatever I guess man,” Owens-Vickers said, according to the criminal complaint. “When everything settled ... I left. Heat of the moment.”
“When the other person began shooting he shot back because he was scared and feared for his life,” the document states.
Police said when asked what kind of gun he had, Owens-Vickers said he did not know, as he doesn't know the difference between a semi-automatic and a revolver, and that he was “kind of messed up too.”
When asked what he did with the gun after the shooting, Owens-Vickers stated, “I probably did toss it. I probably threw it ...”
He stated that everything happened so fast that it was all a blur and he can't remember where he tossed the gun.
Hollobaugh said that gun has yet to be recovered.
Police said Owens-Vickers does not possess a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm.
