Lewistown shooting suspect captured after Turnpike chase
Trending
LEWISTOWN -- A Lewistown man accused of firing 21 shots at five people outside a Logan Street bar was captured early Friday after leading Pennsylvania State Police on a pursuit along the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Lancaster County.
Kio Manuel Dejesus-Pena, 42, was taken into custody after troopers deployed a tire-deflation device near the Reading Interchange, disabling three tires on the 2008 Honda Accord he was driving, according to court documents.
Lewistown Police had wanted Dejesus-Pena on five counts of attempted criminal homicide stemming from a Sept. 5 shooting near the Major League Bottle Shop at Logan and South Pine streets.
According to court documents, a state trooper clocked Dejesus-Pena traveling 80 mph in a 70 mph zone near mile marker 279 in West Cocalico Township shortly before 3 a.m. Friday.
The trooper activated the cruiser's lights and siren, but Dejesus-Pena didn't stop, according to court documents. Troopers deployed a tire-deflation device near the Reading Interchange as the pursuit continued.
Three other troopers joined the chase before Dejesus-Pena stopped on the interchange off-ramp with three deflated tires, according to court documents.
In addition to the charges filed in Mifflin County, Dejesus-Pena faces a felony charge of fleeing or attempting to elude police in connection with Friday's Turnpike pursuit, according to court documents.
Troopers then learned Lewistown Police wanted Dejesus-Pena on a warrant charging him with five counts of attempted criminal homicide.
Lewistown Police said the Sept. 5 shooting followed an argument involving several people inside the Major League Bottle Shop.
According to police, two women had been arguing over a man before three men became involved in a confrontation. Investigators allege Dejesus-Pena left the bar and waited outside for the others.
Police said a group of five people later left the bar and walked toward a vehicle in the 200 block of Logan Street. Investigators believe Dejesus-Pena went between two nearby residences to retrieve a handgun.
Police allege Dejesus-Pena then returned to Logan Street and fired 21 rounds in rapid succession at the group as they were getting into the vehicle with its doors open.
Five rounds pierced the vehicle's passenger-side doors, breaking glass and penetrating the metal, police said. Officers also found other parked vehicles that had been struck by gunfire.
One man suffered a gunshot wound to the buttocks. Police said the victim went to Geisinger-Lewistown Hospital around 3:45 a.m. and was later transferred to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, where the bullet was removed. His injury wasn't considered life-threatening.
According to Lewistown Police, the victim initially left the scene without contacting authorities because he was under probation or parole supervision that prohibited him from being at a bar. Police said the man told investigators he didn’t realize he had been shot until later.
Investigators obtained surveillance video from the bar and the surrounding area. Police said one video clearly showed the gunman firing toward the vehicle.
Detectives identified Dejesus-Pena in part by comparing tattoos visible on the surveillance footage with tattoos recorded on police body-camera footage from previous traffic stops, according to Lewistown Police.
Police obtained a search warrant for a Logan Street residence associated with Dejesus-Pena before and after the shooting, but investigators didn’t recover the handgun.
Lewistown Police also obtained a warrant to search the victim's rental vehicle and said investigators recovered evidence connected to the shooting.
Police said Dejesus-Pena has a criminal history in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. According to investigators, a robbery conviction stemming from a 2015 Philadelphia arrest prohibits him from possessing a firearm.
Magisterial District Judge Craig Weston issued an arrest warrant for Dejesus-Pena on Sept. 8. Lewistown Police had also requested assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service because investigators believed Dejesus-Pena had ties outside Pennsylvania.
Dejesus-Pena faces five counts, each of attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault-attempted serious bodily injury, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person. He also faces one count of a person not to possess a firearm.
Information on Dejesus-Pena's arraignment, bail, and preliminary hearing on the Mifflin County charges wasn’t immediately available Friday afternoon.