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November 6, 2009

1 dead in drug deal gone bad

Police unraveling 'complex' case

By Courtney L. Anderson

SHARON — A Sharon teen is dead after being hit by gunfire from a botched drug deal early Friday in Sharon near the Farrell line.

Police were called at 1:47 a.m. for a report of eight gunshots fired in the 800 block of Wallis Avenue.

“We’re dealing with a pretty complex case here,” Sharon police Chief Mike Menster said Friday night. “Since about 2:30 a.m. we’ve been just in solid interviews and serving search warrants. We’ve detained and questioned dozens of people today.”

John B. Hosey, 18, of 422 Meek Street, was found lying on the east side of the street just south of 833 Wallis with a gunshot would to his torso, police said. Hosey was unconscious, not breathing and there was a lot of blood coming from his back, court documents said.

Hosey was taken to Sharon Regional and later pronounced dead by the Mercer County Coroner, police said.

A married couple were trying to buy drugs from someone at 833 Wallis when men surrounded their van and one fired a shotgun at them, court documents said.

Police were alerted by Mercer County 911 that there was a second gunshot victim at the hospital at Sharon Regional Health System, police said.

Ashley McNulty, 20, and Mark McNulty Jr., 21, both of West Middlesex, suffered “superficial” gunshot wounds, police said. Court documents said Mark McNulty was shot in the left ribcage area and Menster said Mrs. McNulty’s wound was on the left side of her head.

Menster said there were “multiple firearms” involved in the shootout. Police have recovered some. but not all, of them.

Hosey was involved in the confrontation that preceded the shooting, Menster said. The teen was in the street when the shots were fired and was never in the van, he said.

As of Friday evening, no one had been charged with killing Hosey but four people face charges related to the incident.

Alexander Lee, 28, of 26 Shenango Boulevard, Farrell, was arraigned Friday morning on drug conspiracy charges. According to court documents, Lee conspired with Chris Swogger and the McNultys to buy a pound of marijuana.

He was taken to Mercer County Jail after failing to post $30,000 bond, court documents said.

Swogger, 22, of Sharon, and John Dunder, 21, of Sharpsville, were also charged with drug conspiracy, police said.

Menster said police also picked up several people on parole detainers, including McNulty. He said there is a “pretty significant number of people” involved and it’s a matter of police rounding them all up, questioning them and gathering evidence.

He said they expect to charge someone in Hosey’s death in the “near future.”

According to court documents:

McNulty told police his friend Chris Swogger was looking to buy a pound of marijuana. So Mrs. McNulty called her friend Kelly Wilson, who is Lee’s girlfriend.

Ms. Wilson said they could get the marijuana, but they had to pick up Lee.

The couple drove their van to Stambaugh Avenue in Sharon and picked up Swogger, then to Ridge Avenue in Sharpsville to pick up Dunder.

They then drove to Farrell and picked up Lee and went to 833 Wallis.

Once they arrived, Lee went inside the home, then came back to the van and said only one or two people could go inside to make the deal.

Swogger objected and told Lee the seller could come outside. Lee returned to home and came back out with a “very heavyset black male.”

McNulty told police that Swogger showed the man $1,500 and he agreed to deliver the drugs outside the home.

The man and Lee went back inside the home for 20 to 25 minutes.

Then Lee came out the front door and about five men came out the back door of the house and surrounded the van.

A man stood in front of the van with a shotgun pointed at McNulty and his wife.

McNulty then heard what he believed was a gunshot and felt a bullet hit his left side.

As his wife drove off toward State Street, McNulty said he heard a “bunch” of gunshots and glass in the van breaking.

It was unclear Friday how or if Hosey was involved in the drug exchange.

There were also reports of a black Monte Carlo leaving the area.

Police tried to get information from family members on the scene but people were unwilling to give any personal information or statements immediately following the shooting.

A neighbor is accused of trying to hide the shotgun used in the homicide at about 4:55 a.m. while police were collecting evidence at the scene.

Bryan A. Hall, 22, of 818 New Castle Avenue, was charged with tampering with evidence and loitering and prowling at night after he knocked a trash can over. Police found a gun wrapped in a sweatshirt underneath it.

Hall was arraigned Friday morning and taken to Mercer County Jail after failing to post $10,000 bond.

On Friday afternoon, the scene was cordoned off with police tape as police searched 833 Wallis and the nearby area.

A pile of broken automotive tinted glass still lay in the street and neighbors gathered on the sidewalk to talk about what they’d seen and heard in the night.

According to court documents, police found three spent shotgun shells in the area. One appeared to have been run over by a vehicle.

Counselors were available at Sharon High School, where Hosey’s brother James is a student, Superintendent John Sarandrea said. They will also be at the school on Monday to talk with students.

Hermitage, Southwest Mercer County Regional and Sharpsville police, state parole agents and the Mercer County District Attorney’s office are assisting in the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sharon police at 724-983-3210 or the Mercer County 911 non-emergency number at 724-662-6110.

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