Parson trial: Police, victim's mother, alleged getaway driver testify in first two days

Wednesday was the first day of the criminal trial for Tyrone Parson in the 2021 shooting death of 19-year-old Jaheem Alston in Middle Smithfield Township.

Monroe County District Attorney Michael Mancuso recounted, in his opening statement, the events that lead to the discovery of Alston’s body, and the investigation that led to the arrest of Parson and his alleged getaway driver, Kellie Nelson.

Mancuso also said that a potential affirmative defense was imperfect, as Parson was allegedly high on pot at the time of the shooting, an allegation later affirmed by Parson’s attorney Brian Perry.

An affirmative defense is one in which a defendant raises an extenuating or mitigating circumstance to avoid criminal or civil responsibility, without denying the charge, according to the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania legal glossary.

In his opening statement, Perry said that Parson wants to take accountability for his actions, just not for first-degree murder; instead, Perry said he and Parson are looking for either third-degree murder or manslaughter.

Parson is charged with criminal homicide. His trial is a bench trial, in which Monroe County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Margherita Patti-Worthington will render a verdict as opposed to a jury.

Perry said that his client was “too high to premeditate” as he was smoking “potent pot” around the time of the shooting and was not in his right mind.

Perry noted that, while Alston was not armed, there was a can of what he said was “bug spray,” but otherwise agreed with Mancuso that it was an imperfect self-defense case.

911 employee, police testify

Mancuso first called current 911 system specialist at the Monroe County Control Center Angelina Henning to the witness stand, who testified about calls reporting gunshots on the night of Alston’s shooting, including one made by Alston’s mother. The calls were played in court.

Various representatives from the Pennsylvania State Police were called to the stand.

Trooper Tyler Cunningham, a midnight shift trooper at the Stroudsburg Barracks, recalled that he responded to the scene of the crime, and discovered Alston’s deceased body, and explained different photos taken at the scene of the crime.

A photo of Alston's body was shown as he was found at the scene, leading to many who showed up for Alston leaving the courtroom upset and in tears before returning a little while later.

Trooper Timothy Gronski, who was working in the Troop N Forensic Unit at the time, recalled taking photos of the crime scene. He also testified about recovered spent shell casings, and a cast of tire impressions.

During cross-examination, Perry went through the photos with Gronski again, asking why a “man-made” stick was not taken as evidence and whether an aerosol can found by Alston’s body was taken. Gronski said it was not.

Gronski’s general response to Perry was that not everything within the crime scene could be seized as evidence.

Corporal Daniel Coates, who was also with the forensic unit of Troop N at the time, testified to attending Alston's autopsy. He testified about photos taken at the autopsy, and a recovered Adidas sweatshirt that Alston wore at the time of the shooting.

Mancuso had said in his opening comments that Alston had bullet holes in his chest, his right shoulder and his back. His sweatshirt, and photos taken at his autopsy, showed this.

Trooper Justin Leri, with the Stroudsburg Barracks Criminal Investigation Unit, testified about how the investigation led to Parson and Nelson.

According to Leri, a mix of data from Parson’s Snapchat account, transactions in which Alston sent money to Parson for weed, and surveillance photos of Nelson's dark sedan that corroborate Snapchat location data helped lead to Parson.

On cross-examination, Perry pointed out that conversations between Parson and Alston did not contain any threats from Parson to Alston.

On redirect, Mancuso pointed out that there were other message logs between Parson and Alston that were blank due to the messages not being saved.

Parson trial: Day two

Thursday brought testimony from Nelson and from Alston’s mother, Coretta McKnight, both on behalf of the prosecution.

Nelson testified to being a “friend with benefits” with Parson, who went on drug deals with him.

According to Nelson, she met Parson at his residence and drove to Alston’s house. She said she saw Alston fall after hearing gunshots, drove off when Parson ran back into her car and told her to drive off, and tried to confront him by asking him why he shot Alston, to no response, on the way to another drug deal.

Perry went after Nelson’s credibility on cross-examination, pointing out that she is a codefendant in the case, that some of her testimony does not align with past statements, and questioning why she could see Alston fall, but not Parson coming back to her car. (During his cross-examination of both Troopers Cunningham and Gronski, Perry had pointed out that, without the lights of the police cars, the scene of the crime would have been pitch-black.)

Perry pointed out that Nelson said she let Parson put in the directions to Alston's house without telling her where they were going and what for, even though she told police they were heading to a drug sale during her interview with police. Nelson said that it would not have been out of the ordinary for her and Parson to go to his drug deals.

Alston's mother testifies

During McKnight’s testimony, she recalled how Alston was relaxing on the couch in the living room before she went to bed.

Suddenly, she was awoken by gunshots, and after multiple attempts to contact Alston, she realized he was not in the house. She called 911, and state troopers arrived shortly. While she was talking with a trooper, they both came across Alston’s body.

McKnight also recalled a time when Parson went to her residence months before Alston’s death, during which McKnight saw Parson, who she didn’t know at the time, at the door. When McKnight asked Alston who it was, he said that he was related to his weed.

McKnight then answered the door to Parson, who was asking for Alston. She told Parson that no one by Alston’s name lived there. Parson remained standing motionless at the door until McKnight shut the door on him, walking off a little while later.

Differing opinions on premeditation

Clinical and forensic psychologist Frank Dattilio testified on behalf of Parson, who he interviewed twice in January and February of 2023. He testified that Parson had a history of depression, anxiety and substance abuse. In addition to weed, Parson would take Percocet and LSD.

Dattilio also said Parson never carried a gun while dealing weed until he was robbed and bought a gun “off the streets.” The alleged event made Parson more paranoid, according to Dattilio.

As per Dattilio, a combination of these factors led Parson to overreact to Alston pulling something out of his pocket by shooting him, and therefore Parson could not have premeditated the crime.

Psychiatrist Steven Mechanick, who interviewed Parson in June 2023, testified on behalf of the prosecution. He disagreed with Dattilio over whether Parson could have premeditated the shooting.

Mechanick stated that he relied on Parson being an accurate historian of himself and, while not denying that Parson was probably hyper-paranoid and vigilant, pointed out that it was par for the course for drug dealers. He also said that Parson was “emotionally subdued” during the interview, but did intellectually acknowledge that he was in the wrong.

Ultimately, Mechanick argued that, since Parson saw Alston as a threat, there was intent to shoot Alston.

After playing part of Parson's police interview, court was recessed for the day. There was a break on Friday, and court will resume on Monday, when the trial is expected to end.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Trial underway for Tyrone Parson in Jaheem Alston's 2021 death