Second 14-year-old charged in Duquesne homicide

A second 14-year-old boy faces homicide charges in connection with a fatal shooting earlier this year in Duquesne, according to charges filed against him Friday by Allegheny County Police.

Carlo Owens, of Duquesne, is charged with homicide, conspiracy and robbery in the death of 21-year-old Damont Adams. An alleged co-conspirator, 14-year-old Tyion Simmons-McClain, has been in jail since June 10. He is also charged with homicide and robbery.

According to the criminal complaint, the pair hatched a plan to rob Adams, who is Simmons-McClain’s cousin, of his marijuana supply. Owens allegedly used Simmons-McClain’s Facebook profile to message Adams the night of March 14 asking to meet up so he could buy marijuana.

Adams agreed to meet near Ferndale Avenue, according to the complaint. Police obtained a warrant to review the conversation via Facebook Messenger, and the accounts were traced back to Adams and Simmons-McClain. Investigators noted in the complaint that some of the messages that appeared on Adams’s messenger did not show up on Simmons-McClain’s account, leading them to believe they’d been deleted.

Simmons-McClain told police that as he and Owens walked to meet Adams, he picked up a piece of paper that he intended to pass off as money during the transaction, according to the complaint. After they made the exchange, Simmons-McClain tried to walk away, but Adams realized the money wasn’t real.

Simmons-McClain said that as Adams called out to him, Owens emerged from where he’d been hiding and fired a shot at Adams’s head. He said he was “standing right there” when Owens fired. He said they grabbed the marijuana and they both took off, with Owens tossing a red shirt into a yard along Ferndale.

Investigators recovered the shirt, according to the complaint, and DNA on it matched Owens.

Owens was not in custody as of Friday afternoon. Police described him as about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and around 180 pounds with a large build. Anyone with information is asked to call the county police tip line at 1-833-255-8477.