Testimony begins in accused teen killer's trial
Jan. 27—EBENSBURG, Pa. — Jurors began hearing testimony on Wednesday in the trial of a man accused of killing another man in Johnstown when he was 16.
Mizzon Unique Grandinetti, now 21, is facing a charge of murder in the first degree in the May 1, 2017, shooting death of Barron Grumbling, 21.
Grumbling was shot and killed at the corner of Corinne Street and Merle Place in the city's West End.
Testimony began with Detective Mark Britton, of the Johnstown Police Department, walking the jury through the area of the crime, including where Grumbling was found.
Britton showed the jury a map of a 10-block area around where the crime happened, where two individuals were seen fleeing and where one of them, Daekwon J. Coleman, was detained nearby in the parking lot of the Christ the Saviour Church Hall.
The jury also heard from Connie Kralik, who lived several doors down from where the murder occurred.
Kralik testified that she heard three shots as she was heading upstairs and individuals running immediately after, which prompted her to look out the window.
She testified that when two individuals were under the streetlight, she saw they were wearing red hoodies.
In her call to 911, she told the dispatcher that she heard one of the individuals say to turn right as they hit the end of the street.
Britton testified that Coleman was detained for questioning and initially believed to be a suspect because he fit the description of the individuals seen leaving the scene.
He added that through the investigation and forensic testing, Coleman was later cleared.
Lisa Davis lived at Oakhurst Homes at the time of the shooting. She was a mom who had two daughters who were friends with Coleman and Grandinetti. She said there were always "kids" at her home, including the day of the incident, when there were at least five other people there in addition to her daughters, Coleman and Grandinetti.
"They were always at my home. They grew up with my kids and I wanted to keep them safe," she said of the group.
Davis said that Coleman, Grandinetti, one of her daughters and one of their other friends left throughout the evening, but she was unsure if they all left together and just noticed the group dwindling.
In her interview with police, she said that she saw Coleman around 8:30 p.m. walking around with two individuals she did not recognize.
According to Britton's testimony, the first of four 911 calls regarding the shooting was placed at 10:21 p.m.
One call told responders to "hurry" and that "he's just a kid." The caller estimated that the victim looked to be 15 or 16 years of age. When the caller was asked if she wanted to leave her vehicle to assist the victim, she said she was "scared."
Britton testified that Grumbling was pronounced dead at 11:07 p.m. by the Cambria County Coroner's Office and that gunshot wounds were to Grumbling's head and chest.
The trial will resume at 9 a.m. Thursday.
