State Police: 17 Year Old Arrested in Weekend Murder
UNION TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- State police have arrested a 17-year old and charged him in a deadly shooting in Lawrence County.
Police say it started as a home invasion, and ended with a fatal shooting.
17-year-old Anthony Welsh was arraigned in New Castle Monday morning.
Police say Welsh and another man tried to rob three victims at a home.
According to a criminal complaint, three adults, and a teen were watching TV when Welsh and an accomplice busted through a back door.
The man with Welsh allegedly tried to shoot the victims with a pistol, but the gun malfunctioned.
Police say the accomplice then took one of the men to a bedroom where he demanded he open a safe.
The man was pistol whipped several times before Welsh and the other man ran out the back door with $100 in cash, and three cell phones.
That's when one of the victims fired shots at Welsh and the accomplice as they took off.
That unidentified man was found dead near an alley behind Walter Street in Union Township.
The body was discovered just before 4:00 p.m. on Sunday by a man who was mowing his lawn.
According to state police, the Lawrence County Coroner's Office pronounced the victim dead from an apparent gunshot wound at the scene.
They are still trying to identify the victim in the case. He is a black man in his 20s, 5'9" tall and weighs 160 lbs. The victim was wearing a black hoodie, black sweatpants and black Jordan tennis shoes.
"It was like five shots right in a row, it was like fireworks," said Margaret Gregg, a neighbor.
A woman lives in the house on High Street with her son and boyfriend.
"They just said they'd been robbed and ran down the alley," said Gregg.
Dennis Frasier and his family had a close call during the incident on Friday. A bullet came through a side window, went through a bucket and lodged in a door jamb.
"I heard them gunshots," he said. "I heard them - bang, bang, bang. I said… I ain't going to stay here in the backyard. I'm heading for the house."
Welsh is being held at the Lawrence County Jail without bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 9 at 11 a.m.
State Police say if you have any information about the unidentified man to contact them.
Stay with KDKA for the latest on this developing story.
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