A Pittsburgh man is being held without bond after Jeannette police said he shot another man Wednesday.
Ronald Lee Johnson, 64, of Perry South, is accused of firing the shot in the area of Wood and North First streets in Jeannette at 4:45 p.m, according to court papers. He is charged with robbery, aggravated assault, weapons violations and reckless endangerment.
Police said Johnson asked Alan Sloan, 53, of Forward Township, for a ride from a bus station in Pittsburgh to Irwin around noon. They ended up in Jeannette, where they came upon a man who told investigators he was walking to his North First Street home after buying beer, according to court papers.
The pickup truck stopped and the man told police Johnson got out, put a gun to the back of the his head and rifled through his pockets, according to court papers. The man told police he threw one of the beers at the suspect and ran. Authorities said that’s when the man was shot in the upper back.
He was able to give police a description of the truck and the men inside it before being taken to AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville. State police stopped the truck about 7 miles away at the entrance of Westmoreland Mall in Hempfield, according to court papers.
Police said they seized a loaded revolver wrapped in a white towel, a box of ammunition and a glass crack pipe from the truck. They said they found a digital scale at the man’s North First Street home.
Investigators got surveillance footage that shows the truck and man in the same area before a gunshot is heard, according to court papers. Police say Sloan told them Johnson asked the victim about buying drugs. Sloan is charged with conspiracy and possession of drug paraphernalia. He also was denied bond.
Johnson told police the shooting was an accident after the man pulled a gun on him, according to court papers. Both suspects were arraigned Thursday morning.
They are being housed in the Westmoreland County Prison. Neither suspect had an attorney listed in online court records. Preliminary hearings are set for March 26.
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