2 arrested in connection with probe into 2019 shooting that killed a Jeannette man

Two Greensburg men were arrested Friday in connection with an investigation into a 2019 fatal shooting in Jeannette.

Ronald Trotter, 21, and Michael E. Price, 20, are charged with hindering apprehension, obstruction and tampering with evidence. Trotter faces an additional weapons violation.

County detectives accused the men of hiding guns that were used during a shooting on Cuyler Avenue on Oct. 28, 2019, that killed Mariell McGowan, 29.

These are the first arrests made in the case.

McGowan’s mother Tounja Williamson of Jeannette said she was elated to learn police filed charges, though she continues to wait for a suspect to be arrested in his death.

“I’m so glad there’s movement in the case,” she said.

Westmoreland County Detective Nicholas Caesar said in a criminal complaint that Price reported being inside a house on Cuyler Avenue, a few doors down from Williamson’s home, when he heard gunshots just before 6 p.m. When he went outside, a man was lying in the doorway and said he had been shot, according to the complaint.

Price saw two others lying on Cuyler Avenue who appeared to have been wounded. He told authorities that he grabbed a .40-caliber pistol and threw it out a back window of the house. Police said they found the gun there.

Price said he saw Trotter standing in the street near one of the wounded people and another pistol, according to the complaint. A witness said he saw a person matching Trotter’s description pick up the handgun and hide it underneath a porch on Bullitt Avenue. Police said they found the gun there.

Gunshot residue was found on Trotter through lab testing, police said.

At the time, investigators said the shooting stemmed from an argument between two groups of people. Witnesses reported hearing about a dozen gunshots. Prosecutors did not get any evidence that McGowan, a father and aspiring rapper, was armed.

Trotter told District Judge Joseph DeMarchis during his arraignment Friday that he is cooperating with authorities and asked to avoid jail. Trotter said he is on pretrial supervision in connection with a November weapons case filed by Washington Township police.

DeMarchis set bail at $25,000.

“This involves a homicide,” he said. “I’m not saying you’re involved, but I have to look at the total picture.”

Price’s bail was set at $15,000. Both men were held at the Westmoreland County Prison. Their preliminary hearings are set for Nov. 14.