16-Year-Old Charged In Rankin Murder Headed For Trial
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The 16-year-old boy charged in the deadly shooting of a teenage girl last month on a street in Rankin was in court today for a hearing.
Londell Jones, 16, of Rankin, was held for trial in the case.
Jones was arrested and charged with homicide following the May 24 shooting along Kenmawr Avenue in the Hawkins Village housing complex.
A Facebook image may have started the sequence of events that left 16-year-old Delasia Dutrieuille dead and Jones charged with her murder.
"The 16-year-old victim was selling her gun on Facebook, and we have the pictures to show she was selling a gun on Facebook," Blaine Jones, the defense attorney, said. "Now, of course, that doesn't validate her being killed, but the fact that 16-years-olds have guns is astonishing."
But in court testimony Wednesday, one lone witness said Dutrieuille was robbed of the gun she was trying to sell and got angry, so she went to Hawkins Village to try and get the gun back.
The witness said she confronted Jones and threatened to call the police.
The witness said Jones told Dutrieuille, "you're not going to call the police," pulled the gun Dutrieuille was trying to get back and shot her.
"The Commonwealth witness testified that the young woman that's deceased, she took an aggressive posture towards my guy," the attorney said. "She grabbed him; she was threatening she wanted her gun back."
Jones was held for trial and Dutrieuille's family didn't want to comment after the hearing.
The toll of two 16-year-olds centered in this case was clear.
"This is a tough case," attorney Jones said.
RELATED LINKS:
Teen Girl Shot, Killed In Rankin (5/24/13)
Community Mourns Teen Girl Fatally Shot In Rankin (5/25/13)
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