2 wounded, 2 charged in shooting at Rostraver restaurant/bar, police pursuit

Rostraver Township police have charged a Monroeville man with shooting two other men early Sunday during a fight outside Sweeney’s Steakhouse bar and grill in Rostraver.

A Charleroi woman is charged with fleeing the scene along Rostraver Road at high speed behind the wheel of a car occupied by two passengers, including the accused shooter.

According to township police Chief John E. Christner, the two men were in stable condition Sunday afternoon at Allegheny General Hospital, where both were flown after being shot shortly after 2 a.m.

Darius Ronnel Hunter, 26, is charged with attempted homicide and multiple counts of simple assault, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person in the shooting. He also is charged with illegal possession of a firearm, receiving stolen property and tampering with evidence, as police say the Taurus 9 mm handgun he used in the shooting had been reported to Pittsburgh police on Dec. 16 as being stolen.

According to court documents, Hunter admitted to investigators that he threw the gun out of a window of a Volkswagen sedan that police pursued from the scene of the shooting. The gun was recovered a short distance from the scene, police said.

Dimond Jackson, 28, of Charleroi, is charged with fleeing from police, driving while under the influence, reckless driving, recklessly endangering another person, driving with a license under a DUI-related suspension and driving without a valid license that ended in a wreck involving an injury.

State police and Westmoreland County detectives were among other law enforcement agencies that assisted township police after a fight and shots were reported outside Sweeney’s.

Township officers responded to reports of shots fired and people screaming outside the bar, according to court documents. When they arrived, they found an “extremely large hostile crowd of people” gathered in a grassy area in front of the bar and one of the shooting victims, who was lying on his stomach with a gunshot wound to his groin.

The man told police he didn’t see who shot him and was trying to run from the scene when he was struck, according to court documents.

Police said a second man was shot in the forearm and then ran into Rostraver Road, where he flagged down a passing ambulance.

Court documents indicate that, when state police arrived, they heard someone shout, “He shot my cousin,” while the person pointed at a sedan in the parking lot that was driven by Jackson and was occupied by two passengers, including Hunter.

Jackson drove around two state trooper who were trying to detain the motorists and fled along Rostraver Road, according to court documents. Jackson then led troopers on a chase of nearly two miles at speeds exceeding 70 mph, police said.

The chase ended when the car crashed into a utility pole and rolled onto its driver’s side along Rankin Road, according to court papers. Hunter suffered an injury in the crash, according to the documents, but police did not specify how he was hurt.

Police said they obtained Snapchat video that showed Hunter holding a firearm during the fight outside the bar. According to court documents, Hunter admitted to investigators that he fired five or six shots in the direction of the men who were wounded.

Christner said a motive for the fight and shooting remains under investigation. He could not say if there were any other injuries suffered in the incident but indicated no one else was seriously hurt.

“It was closing time, and there were a lot of people in attendance at the bar,” he said.

The bar’s general manager, who declined to provide his full name, described the shooting as “terrible” and said the establishment takes steps to keep patrons safe, including “wanding” guests as they enter and exit, to detect any weapons. He said two security guards were on duty at the bar that night.

“We can’t control what people do when they leave our building,” he said.

Hunter and Jackson were arraigned Sunday afternoon before District Judge Charles Christner in Rostraver and both were placed in the Westmoreland County jail. They were unable to post respective bonds of $500,000 and $50,000.

They face July 6 hearings before the judge.