Stanley P. Brozana Jr., 72 – Served 37 Years as Orwigsburg Police Chief
The Pottsville man accused of shooting another man in the buttocks last month had all charges – including attempted homicide – held for Schuylkill County Court on Monday afternoon.
At a preliminary hearing before District Magistrate Judge James Reiley, the victim of that shooting, Jacob Mason, testified that Keron Diwilliam Shockley, 32, shot him at around 1 a.m. on Jan. 13 as they, along with another man, left the 7-11 store at Route 61 and E. Norwegian St. in the city.
Mason said the three men were at Rumors bar earlier in the night. He said they didn’t arrive at the bar together but while there, they talked about music. Mason said he and a friend played a song on the jukebox and Shockley did, too.
The three men walked from that bar to 7-11. Shockley, according to Mason’s testimony, put his hands on his shoulders inside the store. Mason said he shrugged Shockley’s hands off his shoulders.
Shockley then paid for the items he picked up at the store and went outside while Mason and his friend, Sean Vilcheck, finished up inside the store. While they were at the checkout, Mason testified that Shockley stood outside and slapped his hands against the store windows. While on the stand, Mason demonstrated how Shockley hit the glass, slamming his hands down.
When Mason and Vilcheck left the store, Shockley followed, he testified. As they walked up E. Norwegian St. in Pottsville’s East Side, Mason said, “I told (Mason) he was making me uncomfortable.”
Mason said he told Shockley that he and Vilcheck were going to go their separate way.
That’s when Mason said he heard shots ring out. He testified that the third shot he heard hit him in the rear end. In total, Mason said he heard 8 shots and “then a couple more.”
After realizing he’d been hit, Mason said he and Vilcheck ran toward Phoenix Fire Co. and he hid under a trailer on the side of the building and waited for an ambulance to arrive. Vilcheck, it was learned during Monday’s hearing, eventually fled the scene. He was not present during the hearing.
Mason detailed the severity of the injuries he reportedly suffered from getting shot. He said doctors at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, where he was taken by helicopter that night, told him his “bladder was ripped apart.” He said he’s suffered a severed ureter and may have perforated his bowels. Mason must now use a colostomy bag and that may be a permanent disability, depending on his continued recovery progress. He added that it’s sometimes difficult to walk.
“Some days, (the pain) is pretty rough,” Mason testified.
Pottsville Police officer Michael Hrebik detailed the response to the call of shots being fired on the East Side that night. During Monday’s hearing, a surveillance video collected from a nearby business was shown in court. It was difficult to see but it purportedly showed gunshots being fired.
Hrebik said Shockley was apprehended after they’d learned a description of the alleged shooter.
Police say they were able to find clothing items that Shockley allegedly ditched as he fled the area toward Wolf St. Officers from Schuylkill Haven and Saint Clair were called in to help canvass the area and eventually, the firearm they say was used to shoot Mason was recovered from a trash can in the 500 block of E. Norwegian St.
Eight spent shells were found near the scene of the shooting. Two shells were not fired and in the Hi-Point 10mm pistol police say Shockley used to shoot Mason.
Hrebik said it’s rare for someone in Pottsville to carry a 10mm pistol. Assistant District Attorney Andrew Bench argued that Shockley’s use of this higher-powered pistol shows that he intended to kill Mason that night and that the attempted homicide charge should be held for Schuylkill County Court.
Shockley’s attorney, Lonnie Fish, of Philadelphia, argued that the prosecution did not present enough evidence during the preliminary hearing that justified charging his client with attempted homicide. He did not contest the other charges against his client.
Fish questioned Hrebik and noted that police did not actually see Shockley ditch the clothing recovered from the area of the shooting and more importantly, did not see him ditch the gun in a trash can.
During cross-examination of Mason, Fish asked if he’d been drinking that night. Mason said he had a Twisted Tea and a shot while at Rumors. Fish also wondered if Vilcheck had a weapon on him at the time of the shooting. Mason said he believed his friend was unarmed.
Reiley disagreed with Fish’s arguments and ordered all charges against Shockley be held for County Court. Shockley has been in Schuylkill County Prison since the night of the incident. He’s been charged with one count of attempted criminal homicide, prohibited possession of a firearm, two counts of aggravated assault possession of a gun without a license reckless endangerment, simple assault, possession of instruments of crime, tampering with physical evidence, loitering and prowling at night, and disorderly conduct. No bail has been set.
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