Erie basketball court fatal shootout suspect awaiting trial in mall shots-fired incident

One of two suspects charged by Erie police in a weekend shootout that led to the death of an 18-year-old city man was out on bond awaiting trial in a high-profile shots-fired incident that occurred at the Millcreek Mall in September.

James E. Troop III, 19, is facing two felony counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and 10 misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit recklessly endangering another person in a shootout that happened on Sunday evening at the basketball court at Tom McCarty Memorial Park on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Police accuse Troop of driving a vehicle gunshots were fired from at a group of 25 to 30 people who were at the basketball court. One person among the group returned fire and gunshots struck the vehicle and hit Troop and a passenger, 18-year-old Rashaan Husband, according to investigators.

More:Police seek motive after shootout at Erie basketball court leaves one dead, one wounded

Husband died of a gunshot wound to the back, said Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook, who ruled the death a homicide following an autopsy on Tuesday afternoon. Police said Troop was shot in the hand and was treated and released from the hospital.

Troop was arraigned on the charges in Sunday's shooting on Monday morning and was placed in the Erie County Prison on $25,000 bond. The bond was posted on Wednesday and Troop was released from the prison, according to information in his online court docket sheet.

Also charged in Sunday's shooting is the man accused of returning fire at Troop's vehicle, 25-year-old Patrick A. Nelson. He is charged with offenses including three felony counts of aggravated assault and is free after posting his $75,000 bond, according to his online court docket sheet.

Troop and Nelson are both tentatively scheduled to appear in court for their preliminary hearings on June 5.

Mall shooting

At the time of Sunday's shooting, Troop was free on $25,000 bond that was set when he was arraigned in September on charges including aggravated assault and robbery that the Millcreek Township Police Department filed against him following an incident at the Millcreek Mall on Sept. 18. The bond was posted on April 24, according to information in Troop's online court docket sheet.

Millcreek police accused Troop of grabbing a juvenile and slamming him to the ground during an altercation between two groups of people inside the mall. Investigators said a gun fell to the ground during the altercation and the weapon fired during a struggle for it, sending a bullet into the mall's ceiling but not injuring anyone. Some stores in the mall were closed for a time following the shooting.

More:Millcreek police ID, charge teens in fight where a shot was fired inside Millcreek Mall

Investigators also accuse Troop of picking up the gun after it fired and running out of the mall with it before leaving the weapon in the mall's parking lot.

Five juveniles were also charged with various offenses related to the incident, according to Millcreek police.

Troop was held for court on the bulk of the charges he faces in the Sept. 18 incident following his preliminary hearing in November. His case is scheduled for trial in June, according to online court docket information.

More:Erie man charged in Millcreek Mall fight, shooting held for court as lawyers argue role

Police testing evidence in Sunday shooting

Erie police have recovered a gun in connection with Sunday night's shootout, and forensic evidence was also collected during the autopsy on Husband, Erie police Deputy Chief Rick Lorah said Wednesday. The evidence will be sent out for testing as part of the ongoing investigation into the shooting, he said.

Investigators said Tuesday that the black sedan in which the first gunshots were fired from at Tom McCarty Park fled the area after the shooting and was eventually located in the 800 block of East 24th Street, where Erie police were summoned on a report of shooting victims. Troop was found with a gunshot wound to the right hand and Husband was found in the vehicle, police reported.

Husband was taken to UPMC Hamot, where he was pronounced dead in the emergency room at 7:28 p.m. Sunday, according to the Erie County Coroner's Office.

Husband is the sixth victim of homicide in Erie so far this year, surpassing the five homicides in the city in all of 2022.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.