Lawyer for Greensburg shooting suspect claims self defense

The lawyer for a man awaiting trial for attempted murder told a judge his client acted in self defense when he fired one shot during a melee outside Rialto Cafe in Greensburg.

Defense attorney T. Brent McCune said 23-year-old Evan Curley of Greensburg was acting to protect himself as bullets rang out last Jan. 30 on West Otterman Street.

“This is a self-defense case, not a shootout,” McCune said. “My client was the only one who cooperated. At the time of his arrest, he was perceived as a cooperating victim.”

Curley appeared in Westmoreland County court Wednesday to ask that he be released on house arrest and connected to a monitoring device as he awaits trial. He is being held without bail on charges of attempted homicide and aggravated assault.

Police said Curley and another man, Stevin “Twogunz” German, 27, of Uniontown, had a disagreement in the bar. Both men briefly left to retrieve guns and returned before the fight spilled out onto the streets of Greensburg. Police said German fired eight shots, including two that wounded Curley. One round shattered a glass window on a walking bridge over Pennsylvania Avenue that connects to the Westmoreland County Courthouse Extension office building.

A bystander also was shot.

Curley sustained leg injures and required surgery. He was confined to a wheelchair at the time of his arrest. He now uses a walker, McCune said.

McCune said Curley moved to the Greensburg area from Detroit about four years ago to attend Westmoreland County Community College, where he was a student until his arrest. Curley has no prior criminal record, held two jobs and had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, McCune said.

Curley’s father testified that if released, his son would live in an apartment in the county and not return to Michigan.

Assistant District Attorney Steven Reddy argued against bail for Curley, saying he would be a danger to the community if released.

This month, Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani set a $250,000 bail for German, who remains in jail as he awaits trial on similar charges.

The judge deferred a decision on setting a bail for Curley and asked to hear additional testimony from police officers at a hearing in about two weeks.

“If I release him on house arrest or on a bond he can afford, I have to consider if he is a risk to the community,” Feliciani said.