Teen charged in shooting accused in another crime

A teenager accused of opening fire on a Brighton Heights funeral in October now faces new, unrelated homicide charges in connection with a shooting earlier this year.

Hezekiah Nixon, 16, is still awaiting a preliminary hearing on a slew of charges connected to the Oct. 28 shooting outside the Destiny of Faith Church on Brighton Road during funeral services for homicide victim John Hornezes.

Now he’s also charged with homicide, conspiracy and multiple counts of aggravated assault in the Aug. 7 killing of 40-yearold Stephone Drayton. Drayton was killed and three others were injured in the shooting in the city’s California- Kirkbride neighborhood on the North Side.

Cell phone and ballistic information helped link Hezekiah to the August homicide, according to the latest criminal complaint filed against him.

When Hezekiah and alleged co- conspirator Shawn Davis were taken into custody on the McKees Rocks Bridge hours after the funeral shooting, the former allegedly tossed a gun into the river below. Divers recovered the gun, and testing show that gun was used in the Aug. 7 shooting that killed Drayton.

Cell phone records for a number belonging to Hezekiah showed he was near the shooting scene the night Drayton was killed just minutes before the shooting began, according to the complaint.

Hezekiahis charged with homicide, aggravated assault and firearms violations. No preliminary hearing date has been set, according to court records. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on his other charges Dec. 14.

Hezekiahis the fourth person charged in connection with the homicide. Earlier this year, police filed homicide and other charges against Tylajae and Andre Allen and Andrew Johnson.

Investigators used footage from multiple cameras across the North Side to piece together the events leading up to the Aug. 7 shooting.

Surveillance footage showed four people in a Ford Escape jumped out of a car on California Avenue and began shooting toward Brighton Place, where Drayton was ultimately found dead, according to the complaint. The four people took off again in the Escape, and someone returned fire.

Other video clips showed the Ford Escape parked at a home on Davis Avenue before and after the shooting, according to the complaint. Tylajae Allen lives at the Davis Avenue address, police said.