A man has been ordered to stand trial in the shooting death of one police officer and the wounding of another in western Pennsylvania earlier this month. Johnathan Jermia Morris, 31, of McKeesport, was charged with criminal homicide, attempted homicide, assault of a law enforcement officer, and firearms crimes. The shooting occurred on February 6 in McKeesport when officers were called to a home over a dispute involving a man who police said was having a “mental health crisis”. Police alleged that they caught up with him after he walked away, and he “suddenly produced a handgun” and shot them. Officer Sean Sluganski, 32, was killed and another officer was wounded.
Morris, who was wounded in the leg by return fire, ran to a parking lot and told two people he had been shot and needed help. A witness putting a tourniquet on his leg reported seeing Morris pull a handgun and point it at an approaching officer, and an exchange of gunfire wounded the suspect. During a preliminary hearing, Detective Patrick Kinavey testified that Morris told him three days after the shooting that he didn’t remember shooting at Sluganski and only opened fire after racking his gun wasn’t enough to scare the officers off. Morris alleged that police tried twice to hit him with a car, and he racked his gun to try to scare them off, and when that didn’t work he fired twice into the vehicle. After being wounded, he said he feared a third officer who was approaching was “out for blood” and fired after the officer reached for his gun.
Morris said he has post-traumatic stress disorder, but it is “well managed” through meditation and showering “to wash the PTSD” away. He said he was “having a good day” and wasn’t having any episodes that day, the detective said. Defense attorney Art Ettinger questioned whether his client was on pain medication during the interview and whether any statements weren’t recorded, and he also sought the names of the people who recorded the events. A formal arraignment in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court is scheduled for March 21, by which time prosecutors must decide whether they plan to seek the death penalty in the event that the defendant is convicted of first-degree murder.
(AP inputs)
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