Homicide charges withdrawn for 2 men accused in North Side shootout

Homicide charges against two men who were accused in a North Side shootout that killed three people were withdrawn by prosecutors on Friday after they said that the trajectory from which the shots were fired did not match evidence against them.

Charron Troutman, 19, and Samuel Pegues, 30, will both still stand trial on other charges, including attempted homicide, aggravated assault, firearms counts and reckless endangerment.

Troutman and Pegues were accused of firing the shots that killed John Hornezes, 20, the night of Oct. 15 in Pittsburgh’s North Side neighborhood.

Also killed that night were Jacquelyn Mehalic, 33, Betty J. Averytt, 59. Police have said that the two women were innocent victims who were caught in the gunfire.

Jaylone Hines, 22, is charged with killing the women.

Police have said that it was a shootout among Troutman and Pegues, who were in a car together, and Hornezes and Hines, who were across the street in a playground.

At Friday’s preliminary hearing before District Judge Michele Santicola, Deputy District Attorney Stephie Ramaley said that she was forced to withdraw the homicide counts against Troutman and Pegues because the bullets that killed Hornezes were fired back to front.

Troutman and Pegues could not have fired those shots because they were across the street and in front of him, Ramaley said.

The prosecution did not get the crime lab’s trajectory report until after charges had been filed.

The shooting began after 10 p.m. on Oct. 15 on Cedar Avenue near Allegheny Commons on the North Side.

During Friday’s hearing, Ramaley played video taken from city surveillance cameras in the area that night that showed Pegues driving his mother’s Hyundai Tucson with Troutman as a passenger.

The video showed multiple shots being fired continuously from the vehicle as it traveled from the intersection of Cedar and Pressley Street to the nearby Giant Eagle parking lot.

Investigators found Troutman’s prints on the roof of the vehicle from which they said shots were fired. They also found gunshot residue in the handles of both the driver’s and passenger’s front doors.

All charges against Hines were held over to Common Pleas Court on Dec. 2.

Pegues and Troutman were slated to appear for their preliminary hearing at Pittsburgh Municipal Court on First Avenue on Friday, but the hearing was moved to a third-floor courtroom in Common Pleas Court on Grant Street to have increased security.

The need for that additional security stemmed from what was believed to be a retaliatory shooting at Hornezes’ funeral.

Five people were shot outside the Destiny of Faith Church in Brighton Heights on Oct. 28.

Shawn Davis, 19, of McKees Rocks, and Hezekiah Nixon, 16, of Pittsburgh are charged in that shooting. They are scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on Feb. 3.