5 charged in deadly shooting of Pa. man

The suspects crashed their carin Youngstown after a high-speed chase with police.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A shooting that left one man dead and another injured apparently was a drug transaction gone bad.
Five people were arrested and are being held in Lawrence County Jail after a high-speed chase that ended in Ohio.
New Castle Police Chief Tom Sansone said he expected additional charges to be filed after an autopsy was completed on Sean Smith, 35, of 2 W. Lutton St. Smith also had an address of Hamilton Street, Youngstown, according to police.
The five arrested are each charged with aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy to commit burglary and criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, Sansone said.
The chief said the group traveled from Youngstown to the West Lutton Street house to make a drug transaction. Sansone said four went into the house and one remained in the car.
How events unfolded
According to the affidavit filed to support the charges, Smith answered the door at 6:16 p.m. Monday and others in the house heard him yelling "put it down, I'm not playing."
Witnesses told police that Smith and another man were wrestling with an assault rifle when a second man walked in and started firing another gun.
Police said when they arrived, Smith was conscious and in the kitchen with multiple gunshot wounds to his chest and abdomen. Police said he was able to identify his attackers.
Smith was flown by medical helicopter to St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown where he later died.
Sansone said officers directing traffic on Sampson Street after an unrelated crash spotted the suspects in a Chrysler Concorde shortly after the shooting. A high-speed chase ensued into Ohio before the driver, Sheila Brothers, 30, of Woodview Southwest, Warren, who also had a New Castle address, crashed into another car turning into the intersection of U.S. Route 422 and Liberty-Struthers Road, Sansone said. Brothers' car then crashed into a wall, police said.
Other Pennsylvania and Ohio police departments assisted in the chase.
According to the affidavit, police found a .357 Smith and Wesson handgun with six spent cartridges and a semiautomatic assault rifle in the car.
One man in the car, Mike Price, 29, of Trumbull Court, Youngstown, had a gunshot wound to his leg. He was transported by ambulance to UPMC Pittsburgh, where he was treated Tuesday afternoon. He was arraigned that afternoon and placed in jail after failing to post a $200,000 bond.
In addition to Price and Brothers, police arrested Naomi Christina Brothers, 24, of North Mercer Street, New Castle; Teandre M. DeMarco, 29, of Woodview Southwest, Warren, who also has a Campbell address; and Russell Benton Florence, 31, of North Mercer Street, New Castle.
Bonds for Naomi and Sheila Brothers, DeMarco and Florence were set at $100,000 each.
cioffi@vindy.com