SCRANTON, Pa. — Scranton police identified a 17-year-old reputed street gang member as a suspect in Tuesday night's deadly shooting.
During a hearing early Wednesday afternoon, investigators say they believe Kenneth Tapia shot a man during a large fight around 8 p.m. near Weston Field. A criminal complaint filed Wednesday accused him of shooting Robert Dawson, 32. Dawson later died at Geisinger Community Medical Center.
A docket filed in Lackawanna County Court shows Tapia faces charges of rioting, aggravated assault, and simple assault. He was denied bail at a preliminary arraignment early Tuesday.
Tapia is charged as an adult. Additional charges are expected.
Police also filed charges against Keenan Ford, 18, and charged him with assaulting Dawson and later lying to the police.
At a hearing Wednesday afternoon, a county judge determined Tapia, reportedly a member of a local sect of "Crips," may be held at the Lackawanna County Prison. There are no beds available for him in the juvenile detention system — a persistent issue for the region. He's scheduled for a preliminary hearing on April 24.
Scranton Police Officer James Petrucci testified that witnesses told investigators they saw Tapia fight with the victim, and then they heard gunshots. Dawson fell, and Tapia ran, throwing a gun from his waistband into a yard as he fled toward a gang hangout on the 1000 block of North Main Avenue.
Also Wednesday, police returned to Village Park apartments to collect evidence. That's about a block away from where tactical units surrounded the North Main Avenue home Tuesday night and appeared to throw tear gas inside.
Investigators said during the hearing, they found a 9 mm handgun on Curtis Lane and two 9 mm shell casings by where the victim fell.
Tyson Johnson saw that fight moments before it turned deadly.
"I was kind of scared for my kids, you know what I mean? I thought I was going to have to duck after seeing all those cops and everything."
Larry Meyers, who lives nearby, says the neighborhood is changing.
"We're just starting to see the beginning of what I left in Newark 40-some years ago. But they better get a grip on these gangs."