Uniontown man held for trial in double shooting
?A Uniontown man accused of shooting two people outside a Uniontown bar on Easter Sunday will stand trial.
Uniontown police Detective Donald M. Gmitter said Calvin Jay Huffman, 24, was charged following the April 24 shooting with attempted homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, illegal possession of a firearm, carrying a firearm without a license, three counts of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and tampering with physical evidence.
Magisterial District Judge Michael M. Metros held the majority of charges against Huffman for Fayette County Court during a marathon preliminary hearing Tuesday afternoon.
After hearing arguments from defense attorney Mark Mehalov, Metros dismissed the charges for illegal possession of a firearm, discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, carrying a firearm without a license and tampering with physical evidence, agreeing with Mehalov that prosecutors failed to submit evidence to support the charges.
However, Fayette County Assistant District Attorney J.W. Eddy said that the illegal possession of a firearm and possessing a firearm without a license charges will be refiled by police.
Gmitter said that all the charges were filed against Huffman after he shot Monique Curry and Patrick Samuel, both of Uniontown, outside Splash bar at the intersection of Fayette Street and Feathers Avenue on the morning of April 24.
Curry told the court that she was seated in her vehicle near the Best Little Hair House on Feathers Avenue outside of Splash around 3:30?a.m. when she saw and heard Huffman arguing with Samuel about a coat.
Curry testified that she saw Huffman point a gun at Samuel and testified that Samuel shouted, 鈥淕o ahead and shoot me! I鈥檓 not scared to die!鈥�
She testified that gunfire then erupted behind her vehicle and that she got onto the floor for cover.
It was only after police arrived that Curry learned she had suffered two gunshot wounds to her lower back, she testified.
She was treated a UPMC-Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh and testified that one of the bullets is still lodged inside her body.
Samuel testified that he too was shot twice 鈥� once in the arm and once in the buttocks 鈥� and testified that he was hospitalized for four days at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va.
He also testified that the bullet that struck his arm traveled through his forearm but that the other bullet is still inside his body.
Samuel testified that he was not sure who was firing the shots because he was intoxicated, although he noted that he remembered seeing Huffman outside the bar and testified that he had seen him with a gun earlier in the night.
Lauren Hice, no address available, testified that she had started spending time with Huffman a few weeks before the incident and that prior to the shooting, she and Huffman, along with Autume Star Close, 24, of South Union Township and another man had been at Splash bar.
Hice testified that she and Huffman returned to the bar to get a coat that belonged to Huffman or to the other man, whom she did not identify.
She testified that as Huffman was returning to her car from the bar after allegedly going to retrieve the coat he got into an argument with other people and that gunshots then rang out.
State police Trooper Charles Morrison, testifying as a forensic expert, said that nearly three dozen shots were fired at the scene, including 23 .22-caliber rounds and 11 .40-caliber rounds.
Hice testified that shortly after that and while shots were still being fired, Huffman got into the passenger seat of her car, bleeding heavily from multiple gunshot wounds, and ordered her to drive.
When she said no, noting that she was paralyzed with fear, Hice testified that Huffman pointed what appeared to be a 鈥渕achine gun鈥� at her and ordered her to drive away.
鈥淗e pointed the gun at my face and told me that if I didn鈥檛 drive he was going to shoot me,鈥� Hice testified through tears.
Gmitter said Huffman was likely using a .22-caliber fully automatic weapon during the incident.
Hice testified that she drove to a business on East Main Street but could travel no farther as she had a flat tire and that Close then arrived and she and Huffman were driven by Close to Close蘑菇视频 South Union home.
Once at the home, Hice testified that Close collected bloody clothing and put it in a bag that was then picked up by an unidentified person. She also testified that she either saw someone put the gun into the garbage bag or heard someone mention putting the gun into the bag but could not be sure.
In early May, Gmitter said police captured Close of 37 Lebanon Ave. on charges she helped hide Huffman following the shooting.
Close was charged before Magisterial District Judge Jesse Cramer with three felony counts of hindering apprehension or prosecution, tampering with physical evidence, obstruction of law enforcement and failure to report injuries caused by a firearm.
He said Close provided a getaway vehicle for Huffman, allowed him to hide at her residence and tampered with and destroyed evidence from the shooting, which was corroborated by Hice蘑菇视频 testimony Tuesday.
Huffman had been on the run from police until earlier this month when he was captured during a traffic stop in Churchill.
According to Capt. David J. Rutter, Churchill police stopped a vehicle Huffman was traveling in and during the stop, Huffman provided police with a bogus name and age.
As police continued to investigate, they were able to determine Huffman蘑菇视频 identity and discovered the felony warrant issued out of Uniontown for his arrest, Rutter said.
Rutter said that when he was taken into custody, Churchill officers discovered Huffman was in possession of a brick of heroin as well as a bag of marijuana.
Additionally, officers observed that Huffman was suffering from two gunshot wounds.
Gmitter said that investigators had confirmed as many as three different shooters in the incident and had also determined that Huffman had been struck by at least one round during the firefight.
Rutter said Huffman faces additional drug related charges in Churchhill.
Police were able to capture Close a week after the shooting after her car was stopped by police in an unrelated incident when her boyfriend was driving and later impounded.
Gmitter said Close, who was not aware that a warrant had been issued for her arrest, called police hours after the traffic stop involving her car and was taken into custody after she came to the police station to inquire further about the vehicle.
In the weeks that followed, Gmitter and other Uniontown officers scoured multiple locations across the region in an effort to locate Huffman who was considered armed and dangerous.
Huffman was placed in the Fayette County Prison on $500,000 straight cash bond following the hearing.