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Trial for teen involved in Circle K shootout expected to begin today

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The trial for one of five teens accused of getting into a public shootout with each other outside a Carmichaels gas station last March is expected to begin at the Greene County Courthouse today.

Opening statements in the attempted homicide trial for 17-year-old Christopher Emmett McKenzie were supposed to begin Monday, but the start was pushed back a day after the defendant’s attorney learned that prosecutors had additional video footage from police officers at the scene.

Defense attorney Noah Geary and District Attorney David Russo huddled with President Judge Lou Dayich in his chambers to discuss the additional evidence that included footage from five body cameras worn by Cumberland Township police officers who responded to the shooting scene at the Circle K gas station at 202 W. George St. on March 3, 2022. Geary said he just learned about the new evidence shortly before the trial was scheduled to start, so he was permitted to spend the rest of the day reviewing the footage in order to prepare for its possible introduction as evidence.

Dayich brought the jurors into the courtroom briefly Monday morning to be sworn-in, but then dismissed them before lunchtime with the expectation that the trial would begin this morning.

McKenzie, who turns 18 next month, is being tried as an adult on multiple felony charges, including four counts each of attempted homicide and aggravated assault, along with numerous other felony and misdemeanor charges. He is accused of getting into a gun battle with four other teens at the gas station that escalated from what originally was supposed to be a meet-up to sell an iPhone.

McKenzie, of Carmichaels, had apparently arranged to meet Kobe Lee Cramer to purchase the phone, but an argument soon ensued. Cramer, 19, of Dunbar Township, was in the car with Vincent Edward Pratt, 18, of Redstone Township, and brothers Marquis Noah Curry-Jones, 18, and Joshua Allen Curry-Jones, 20, both of Uniontown.

According to surveillance video from the store, McKenzie could be seen talking to the group in the car for a few minutes before he jumped through the driver’s side window and apparently took the cellphone and vehicle’s keys. McKenzie ran toward the store and the group followed him to the door, where he was assaulted and relinquished the phone and car keys, according to the video.

As the group got back into their car, McKenzie stepped into the store and then pulled out a handgun before firing several shots at the vehicle, according to the video. Someone in the vehicle fired back, striking McKenzie in the left eye.

More than a dozen bullets were fired during the shootout between the teenagers and narrowly missed numerous bystanders at the gas station, although some struck parked cars and a building across the street that caters to children with special needs.

Marquis Curry-Jones was shot in the leg and Joshua Curry-Jones was shot in the arm during the exchange of gunfire. Both were taken by ambulance to an area hospital, while McKenzie was flown by medical helicopter to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va. No one else was injured.

McKenzie could be seen wearing glasses in the courtroom Monday and appeared to have lost his left eye from the shooting. He has been jailed without bond since his release from the hospital.

The four other teens were also charged, although the cases against Pratt and Marquis Curry-Jones were moved to juvenile court. Cramer and Joshua Curry-Jones are still awaiting trial in Greene County in connection with the shootout.

The trial for McKenzie is expected to take five days with more than three dozen witnesses on the list who could be called to testify.

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