SHARON At hearing, woman says she saw accused fire gun

The shooting followed brief fights involving the victim, the witness said.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- Shawna Barnett said she saw Michael A. Rogers fire one shot from a handgun at Elliott Andre Campbell as Campbell ran out of Styles Lounge on Budd Street early June 16. She said she heard Rogers fire a second shot as he went out the door after Campbell.
Moments later, she said, she followed a trail of blood on the ground to where Campbell lay in the bar parking lot.
"He was gasping for air. He was trying to breathe," Barnett said.
Campbell, 27, of Hermitage, died of a gunshot wound to the back a short time later, and police launched a search for Rogers, 29, whose last known address was in Farrell, on a charge of criminal homicide. He was found in Mississippi in early August and extradited to Pennsylvania to face charges.
Barnett, 24, was the only witness to testify at Rogers' preliminary hearing Thursday before District Justice James McMahon.
Security for the hearing was heavy as members of both men's families attended. Everyone entering the courtroom was searched with a metal detector, and there were seven police officers in the courtroom.
Ordered held for trial
Justice McMahon ordered Rogers held for trial on the homicide charge as well as a second charge of carrying a firearm without a license that prosecutors added at the hearing. He also ordered everyone in the courtroom to remain seated until police escorted Rogers from the building.
Barnett said she knew both men but was friendlier with Campbell and spoke with him when he entered the bar around 1:45 a.m. He was in a good mood, she said.
Minutes later, she heard a commotion and turned to see Campbell and a man she knew as Michael Polite get into a scuffle that resulted in Polite's being knocked to the floor.
Rogers got involved in the fight and also was knocked down by Campbell, Barnett said.
As he got up, Rogers pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and cocked it, pointing it at Campbell, said Barnett, who was standing only about 10 feet away.
Campbell ran for the door and Rogers fire one shot as Campbell reached the doorway, despite shouts from some of his friends that he calm down and put the gun away, Barnett said.
Instead, he ran after Campbell and fired a second shot as he left the building in his pursuit of Campbell, Barnett said, adding that she didn't actually see him fire the second shot because of her position, but that she heard the gun fire.
Barnett said she made her way out the same door along with a lot of other people and noticed Rogers running down Budd Street away from the bar.
She also noticed a faint blood trail that started a few feet from the door but got heavier as she followed it around the building into the parking area where she saw Campbell lying on the ground.
A forensic pathologist's report showed Campbell died of a single gunshot wound to the back.
Rogers is in Mercer County jail without bond.
gwin@vindy.com