Homicide witness backs away from identifying gunman

A witness to a 2014 homicide was at the center of a contentious court hearing Friday after he backed away from his initial identification of a man seen running from the crime scene.

The witness told police he saw the muzzle flashes and heard the gunshots that killed Ronnell Smith, 25, of McKees Rocks, on Oct. 24, 2014, outside the Lee Tuck Lounge in the 100 block of Steuben Street in the West End. Police asked that the witness’ name not be used because they fear for his safety.

The witness saw two men running away and chased them briefly, but then returned to the bar’s parking lot to find Smith dead from nine gunshot wounds. Investigators found two types of shell casings at the scene and used DNA from a blood sample to tie one man, Lonnie Monk, 28, of Chartiers City, to the crime.

Monk is charged with homicide, and his case is pending in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

Investigators

information from the witness to identify the second homicide suspect: Anthony Jetter, 28, of McKees Rocks. Detective Judd Emery testified during a preliminary hearing Friday that the witness picked DONAHUEJetter out of a photo JOHN lineup F. as “JACK”the second man he saw running from the scene.

“He said he knew the first guy as Monk and that Monk fired a shot at him, and he said he knew the second person as ‘Jetter,’” Detective Emery said.

But the witness testified Friday that he did not see the faces of the men who fled from the shooting.

“I did not see him,” he said. “I said I seen dreads from the back.”

He evaded assistant district attorney Lisa Carey’s attempts to re-establish his identification of Jetter, even when shown Jetter’s photo in the lineup on which he had previously written that he was 100 percent sure the person in the photo lineup was Jetter.

“I knew who it was,” he said on cross-examination. “I didn’t know who was involved [in the homicide].”

He denied that he had been threatened but said the mothers of his children were scared for their safety because of his testimony. Detective Emery said the witness had contacted him several times recently and said that he was “in fear for the safety of his family and for him.”

He will be entering witness protection, police said.

After the witness finished testifying, Ms. Carey turned to Detective Emery to establish the identification of Jetter, a strategy to which Jetter’s attorney, Ken Haber, strongly objected and again.— again and again Mr. Haber’s objections piled up, and the attorneys began arguing with each other and the magisterial district judge, Craig Stephens, who chided both after a particularly tense exchange in which Mr. Haber accused Ms. Carey of “staring him down.” “Let’s try to be civil here, counsel,” District Judge Stephens said. After a nearly two-hour hearing, District Judge Stephens ordered Jetter to stand trial. He faces a formal arraignment June 16 in Common Pleas Court.

He argued that Detective Emery’s testimony about the witness’ earlier identification could not be used to determine whether charges should be held for court and rather could be used only as evidence to impeach the witness.

Ms. Carey appeared to become exasperated as