Lawyer for Erie man charged in basketball court shootout says client acted in self-defense

An Erie man accused of returning fire in a shootout that happened at an eastside basketball court on Sunday evening was legally licensed to carry a firearm and fired back at the people who opened fire on the court to protect himself and others, his lawyer said Friday.

Lawyer Rick Filippi, who is representing 25-year-old Patrick A. Nelson in his aggravated assault case, said Nelson does not know the people who fired numerous gunshots at a group of people at Tom McCarty Memorial Park, and he does not believe Nelson was the intended target of the shooting.

Nelson's actions were taken in self-defense, to defend himself as well as the 20 to 30 people playing basketball at the time, Filippi said.

More: Police seek motive after shootout at Erie basketball court leaves one dead, one wounded

According to Erie police, gunshots were fired from a black sedan that drove past the park heading north on Pennsylvania Avenue before Nelson returned fire. The two occupants of the sedan were hit by gunfire and one of them, 18-year-old Rashaan Husband, died of his injuries, authorities reported.

The accused driver of the sedan, 19-year-old James E. Troop III, was shot in the hand and was also charged by Erie police in connection with the shootout.

Police charged Nelson with three felony counts of aggravated assault, a felony count of discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, and misdemeanor counts of possessing an instrument of crime and recklessly endangering another person. He is free after posting his $75,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court for his preliminary hearing on July 12.

Erie police charged Troop with two felony counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and 10 misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person.

Investigation ongoing in shooting probe

The shooting at Tom McCarty Memorial Park is still an open and ongoing criminal investigation, and detectives are still working closely with the Erie County District Attorney's Office, Erie police Deputy Chief Rick Lorah said Friday.

Among the people who called 911 to report the shooting Sunday at about 6:45 p.m. was Nelson, according to investigators.

Detectives wrote in Nelson's criminal complaint that he called 911 after returning home to his East Fifth Street residence, and when officers went to the residence Nelson told them he was in the area of the park and his vehicle was damaged by gunfire.

When officers later took Nelson to the Erie police station for an interview, he told investigators he had no weapons on him that night and had not fired any of his guns since May 26. When investigators confronted Nelson about his testing positive for gunshot residue, Nelson ultimately stated he returned fire on a black sedan that opened fire on him while he sat in the passenger seat of his vehicle at the basketball court, detectives wrote in Nelson's criminal complaint.

According to Filippi, Nelson had organized the basketball game that was taking place at Tom McCarty Memorial Park on Sunday evening. He said Nelson's vehicle was parked next to an 8-foot-high fence, and Nelson had nowhere to run when numerous gunshots were fired at him from the passing black sedan.

Nelson has a license to legally carry a firearm in Pennsylvania, Filippi said.

Filippi added it is his belief the shooters were targeting another person who was at the basketball court when Nelson's car was shot up.

Erie police said a house was also hit by gunfire during the shootout before the black sedan fled the area and was later found by police in the 800 block of East 24th Street. Troop was found with a gunshot wound to his hand, and Husband was still seated in the sedan.

The sedan was riddled with bullet holes, detectives wrote in Troop's criminal complaint.

Husband was taken to UPMC Hamot, where he was pronounced dead in the emergency room at 7:28 p.m. Sunday. Husband died of a gunshot wound to the back, said Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook, who ruled the death a homicide following autopsy on Tuesday.

Investigators have not said where the gunshot that killed Husband was fired from. Police have said only that a gun was recovered, but they have not identified who or where the gun was recovered from, and that forensic evidence was recovered during the autopsy on Husband.

Forensic evidence is still being tested in the case, Lorah said Friday.

Bond revocation sought for suspect

Troop was free after posting his $25,000 bond Wednesday in the shooting case. But he was taken into custody and returned to the Erie County Prison Thursday as the District Attorney's Office seeks to have his bonds revoked in two other criminal cases, according to police and court records.

More: Erie basketball court fatal shootout suspect awaiting trial in mall shots-fired incident

Prosecutors on Tuesday filed a motion to revoke Troop's bonds in a shots-fired incident at the Millcreek Mall in September and in an assault at the Erie County Prison in February, arguing that Troop violated the conditions of those bonds by engaging in criminal activity related to the shooting at Tom McCarty Memorial Park.

Troop was free on $25,000 bail in each of those two cases.

A hearing on the bond revocation motion is scheduled for Friday morning before Erie County Judge John J. Mead, according to information in Troop's court docket sheets.

In the Millcreek Mall case, Millcreek Township police accused Troop of assaulting a juvenile inside the mall, leading to an incident in which a gun was produced and a shot was fired into the ceiling before investigators said Troop picked up the gun and ran out of the mall with it before depositing it in the parking lot.

Millcreek police charged Troop with offenses including felony counts of aggravated assault, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and robbery in the incident. The case was scheduled for trial this month.

In the assault case, Troop was accused of being involved in an assault on another inmate at the county prison, according to information in the bond revocation motion. Erie County detectives charged Troop with felony counts of aggravated assault and assault by prisoner and misdemeanor counts of possessing an instrument of crime, simple assault and disorderly conduct.

Troop's trial in that case is scheduled for September, according to information in his online court docket sheet.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie man's lawyer claims self-defense in basketball court shootout