2 men charged with hindering investigation of Jeannette double shooting

Two Westmoreland County men are charged with hindering apprehension and obstruction of justice for helping a Jeannette teenager dispose of two handguns after he allegedly shot and wounded two men last month.

Khalil L. Myers, 16, was arrested hours after the shootings at 4:46 p.m. Oct. 20 inside a house at 307 S. Third St. by Jeannette police and county detectives. He is charged as an adult with multiple criminal charges including two counts of attempted homicide.

On Thursday, city police charged Elijah S. Vento, 24, of Irwin, and Cedric M. Ward, 44, of Jeannette, for hiding evidence after the shooting and obstructing the investigation. Police allege Vento “disposed” of two handguns Myers possessed at the time of the shooting.

According to court documents, investigators spoke with both Vento and Ward at a home in the 300 block of North Pennsylvania Avenue in Greensburg, where they found Myers had fled after the shooting that wounded Austin Mathias, 19, of Crabtree, and Anthony Bittinger, 21, of Greensburg. Both Mathias and Bittinger were treated at Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville for their wounds.

Jeannette police Officer Derek Manley reported in court documents that the shooting occurred at the home of Mathias’ mother. Mathias was there visiting with Bittinger.

Manley said witnesses told investigators Myers had “a long-standing dispute” with the pair, according to police.

According to police, Ward’s juvenile son reportedly was with Myers during the incident. After Ward and his son spoke with police at the Greensburg residence and were released, Manley alleges that security video from Jeannette Manor shows Ward’s tan Chrysler Concorde stopping near a vacant lot and a juvenile exiting the sedan to retrieve one of the handguns Vento had thrown away immediately after the shooting.

Investigators developed information that Ward then took the handgun to another juvenile acquaintance’s home on Baughman Avenue, where investigators retrieved it the next day hidden in floorboards. Ward’s juvenile son is not charged, but authorities said the investigation is ongoing.

Police allege Vento also disposed of another 9 mm handgun off South Dakota Way in Jeannette shortly after the shooting. Police said that handgun was recovered by police in heavy brush about 5 feet off the road in a vacant lot.

Court records say one of the handguns was used in the shooting.

Vento is charged with 16 criminal counts including hindering a criminal investigation, carrying a firearm without a license, criminal conspiracy, criminal use of a communication facility, illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of a stolen firearm, obstruction of justice and possession of a firearm with an altered manufacturer’s number.

Ward is charged with 10 counts including hindering a criminal investigation, illegal possession of a firearm, permitting the illegal possession of a firearm by a minor, illegal possession of a stolen firearm, obstruction of justice and possession of a firearm with an altered manufacturer’s number.

Neither Vento or Ward could be reached for comment. Neither man has been arraigned on the complaints.

Myers’s preliminary hearing is scheduled Dec. 17.