Mother says she saw son killed in New Kensington shooting; bail denied for alleged shooter
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Jackee Harris said her son was kind and generous toward the older teen she claims killed her son in an exchange of gunfire in New Kensington.
Harris said she was watching from a car nearby when her son, Divine Warner, 16, confronted Dylan Walmsley, 19, along Fourth Avenue on April 23.
“I never thought in a million years Divine was about to die,” Harris said as she and other relatives stood outside New Kensington District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr.’s courtroom, where Walmsley waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday on three firearms-related charges.
Pallone denied a request by Walmsley’s court-appointed attorney, Jaclyn Mariah Shaw, to release Walmsley from the Westmoreland County jail into his mother’s custody. Walmsley continues to be held in the county lockup without bond.
Shaw argued that Walmsley, who was shot in the abdomen, needs medical attention for the injuries he suffered in the shooting as well as mental health treatment relating to prior diagnoses and because he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. She requested he receive a mental health evaluation.
Westmoreland County Assistant District Attorney Michael Pacek said, if Walmsley was released, no conditions could guarantee the safety of the community or his own. Pallone noted Walmsley’s history of firearms violations in denying Shaw’s request to modify grant bond.
Shaw argued that Walmsley should be entitled to bond because the state has not charged him with homicide, and she said that it’s clear he was defending himself.
When contacted for comment on why Walmsley has not been charged with homicide or if he still could face that or other charges, Melanie Jones, spokeswoman for District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli, said the case remains under investigation.
Jones also referred to the police complaint against Walmsley in which investigators identified Warner as the aggressor in the incident.
“I am sure, once the case progresses, more details and evidence will be presented,” Jones said.
During Walmsley’s bond hearing, it was said he has a juvenile criminal history that includes committing a robbery with a gun. Walmsley told Pallone he was adjudicated delinquent and spent time at Summit Academy in Butler County, a juvenile detention facility.
Harris said that’s where her son met Walmsley. She said Walmsley stayed in her home because no one else would take him in.
“My son’s heart was big. He was a giver,” she said. “He took care of that boy.”
Harris said she found out after the fact that her son confronted Walmsley that Sunday in April because Walmsley had stolen a gun from him. She said she didn’t know her son was armed.
“I didn’t know,” she said. “I wish I did know.”
Police said the encounter was captured on video from Mt. Calvary Baptist Church. Harris said the video will substantiate her account.
Harris said she saw her son approach Walmsley with a gun drawn. She said Walmsley backed away from her son before firing first, hitting him in the head.
Harris said her son never pointed his gun at Walmsley until Walmsley fired his gun.
“Why would you shoot him?” she said.
Harris and other members of Warner’s family say Walmsley’s claim of self-defense is not true.
“He murdered my nephew,” said Warner’s uncle, Cameron Richards. “We want justice for Divine.”
Harris also questions the police response to her son’s injuries, wanting to know why he wasn’t taken by helicopter to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. Warner was taken by ambulance to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison, where he was pronounced dead in the emergency room.