Erie police charge third suspect in connection with January 2023 shooting on Poplar Street
Authorities investigating a January 2023 shooting in a west Erie neighborhood that damaged a vehicle and a garage door have charged a third person in connection with the crime.
Edward J. Tucholski, 19, was arraigned Tuesday afternoon on charges including felony counts of attempted aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault in the Jan. 9, 2023, shooting in the 200 block of Poplar Street. His arraignment occurred days after another accused participant in the shooting, 23-year-old Dashawn D. Lofton Jr., was arraigned on charges in the shooting.
Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny credited city police detectives following Lofton's arrest last week of continuing to work and resolve older shooting cases in the city. There were a number of shooting cases in recent years that investigators said involved juveniles and young adults, many of which were believed to have been driven by suspected beefs between rival gangs.
Tucholski, who was 17 years old at the time of the shooting, was placed in the Erie County Prison on $100,000 bond following his arraignment Tuesday. His lawyer, Charbel Latouf, said Wednesday that police allege his client was a passenger in a vehicle police said was connected to the Poplar Street shooting, and that Tucholski wasn't a shooter.
"It appears to be a very thin allegation against my client," Latouf said.
More: Erie police charge city man in 2 shootings, say guns seized by state police connected to 1
Shell casings and witness information
The shooting was reported at about 4:45 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2023. Officers who responded to the 200 block of Poplar Street said they found 16 9 mm shell casings and located a bullet hole in the garage door of a residence, according to information in case documents. No one was reported injured in the shooting.
Police said they also learned from witnesses that a male in a gray hooded sweatshirt was reportedly seen shooting at others before he was reportedly shot at and ran to a white sport utility vehicle.
Another witness reported finding a handgun in the 400 block of Peach Street shortly after the shooting. Police located surveillance video in the area that they said showed a white SUV stopping in the area and a male exit the vehicle before the vehicle left the area. Testing on the gun determined the shell casings recovered in the shooting were fired from the weapon, according to information in criminal complaints filed in the case.
Police later located the white SUV and found a bullet hole in the passenger side of the vehicle. The vehicle's accused driver, Kanye K. Cooley, was charged in connection with the incident in March 2023. He later pleaded guilty to a felony count of aggravated assault and was sentenced in March, according to court documents.
Investigators wrote in the criminal complaint against Lofton, which was filed on July 12, that Lofton's fingerprints were filed on the front and rear passenger side of the white SUV.
Tucholski's fingerprints were found on the rear driver's side door of the vehicle, according to information in case documents.
Tucholski and Lofton are tentatively scheduled to appear in court for their preliminary hearings in the case on Aug. 1, according to information in their criminal docket sheets.
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNhahn.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie police charge third suspect in 2023 shooting on Poplar Street
