Pair ordered to stand trial in connection with June 12 shooting in Tarentum that injured 2

A man accused of firing at least eight shots at two people in Tarentum in May has been ordered to stand trial.

A district judge also ordered a woman who police said instigated an argument earlier in the day that resulted in the shooting to stand trial.

Steven Jermain Prezzie, 44, of the 800 block of Sixth Avenue in Brackenridge was charged June 12 with six felony counts, including aggravated assault, conspiracy and carrying a gun without a license, along with two counts of reckless endangerment.

A felony count of aggravated assault and a count of reckless endangerment were dismissed against Prezzie, who waived his right to a preliminary hearing before District Judge Carolyn Bengel. Bengel ordered him to stand trial in Allegheny County Court on the remaining charges, according to court records.

Following his arrest in June, Prezzie was released from custody on a $25,000 unsecured bond. Formal arraignment for his trial is scheduled for Aug. 28.

Officers responded about 2:45 a.m. to the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Corbet Street, near the railroad tracks, for a report of shots fired, according to a criminal complaint.

Eight 9mm shell casings were found at the scene along with two people who suffered cuts and bruises while running from the gunfire.

Investigators said they were able to view video of the incident that was captured on borough security cameras.

One of the injured women thought she was shot in the leg, but police learned it was, instead, a cut to her knee suffered while fleeing from the gunfire.

Police said a second victim suffered cuts to their hand while running from the shots.

Along with Prezzie, police arrested Freedom Brown, 41, and charged her with two felony counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and two counts of making terroristic threats in connection with the shooting.

One of the felony counts and one of the misdemeanor counts were dismissed against Brown, who also waived her right to a preliminary hearing before Bengel. Brown also was ordered to stand trial on the remaining charges. Her formal arraignment also is scheduled for Aug. 28.

According to the criminal complaints filed against Brown and Prezzie, the victims appeared to be having an argument with Brown before the shooting.

The two parties were on opposite sides of the railroad tracks, with the victims at East Fifth Avenue and Corbet Street. That’s when a light-colored Buick SUV pulled up and two unidentified men got out, police said.

“Brown points in the direction of victim 1 and victim 2,” the criminal complaint stated.

The man driving the SUV, later identified as Prezzie, raised a handgun and fired eight shots in the direction of victims. Then Brown got in the SUV with the men and drove away, the complaint said.

Police found an SUV matching the description of the one involved in front of Brown’s home along Sixth Avenue in Brackenridge. They impounded the car.

Tarentum officers found Brown walking nearby and took her into custody.

Police used the registration for the SUV to learn that it was owned by a man in Springdale, who told them the vehicle was registered in his name but usually was driven by his brother.

The man’s brother told police that he loaned the vehicle to Prezzie and gave police his telephone number and an address, the complaint said.

The address, police said, was the same house where the SUV was found after the shooting.

When police got a warrant to search Brown’s telephone, they found the number provided by the SUV owner with a photo of Prezzie attached, the complaint said.

The telephone also showed that calls were made to Prezzie before, during and after the shooting, police said.

Investigators said the incident began with an argument at the Marathon gas station near the foot of the Tarentum Bridge. The victims said they were out having drinks and ran into Brown at the gas station.

The male victim got into an argument with Brown, who, according to police, told the pair, “I’m gonna get my (expletive) to kill you.”

Brown told police she felt disrespected by a man at the gas station, who called her a name and pushed her.

Footage from the gas station shows Brown and the male victim pushing each other, police said. No distinguishable threats could be heard on gas station footage because of the amount of shouting that was happening, according to police.

Brown left the Marathon station before the pair she was fighting with, police said, but encountered them again near the railroad tracks.

Brown told police she “saw three cars near the intersection and heard loud bangs,” the complaint said.

She told police she didn’t see where the bangs came from but said they sounded like fireworks. Brown told police that she then ran home, the complaint said.

Police said Brown has distinguishable features with long, blonde braids and was seen on surveillance footage at the scene.