Officers describe scene of bullets flying

A Liberty officer had his assault rifle trained on a second-story window.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Double-murder suspect Jermaine McKinney alternated between a scowl and a smirk as police testified about being shot at from a second-story window.
The testimony was heard Monday in municipal court at McKinney's preliminary hearing. He faces 14 counts of felonious assault and having a weapon under disability, meaning a prior conviction prohibits him from possessing a firearm.
McKinney, 25, of Holly Drive in Girard, and also with addresses in Youngstown, was arrested Jan. 1 after surrendering to police who found him holed-up in a house at 71 Halleck St. on the city's North Side. Police who surrounded the house for just over four hours said McKinney fired at them.
At the end of the 90-minute hearing Monday, Judge Robert P. Milich bound the case over to a Mahoning County grand jury. McKinney is also accused of killing two women -- a mother and daughter -- Dec. 22 in Trumbull County.
McKinney, dressed in an orange Mahoning County jail uniform, slumped at the defense table as he listened to officer after officer describe what happened New Year's Day on Halleck.
Youngstown Patrolmen Joe Wess, James Rowley, Malik Mostella and Dave Wilson answered questions put to them by Dana C. Guarnieri, an assistant city prosecutor, and Lynn A. Maro, McKinney's defense attorney.
Wess and Detective Sgt. Zaida Miranda were pinned in the back yard by gunfire. Wess, who found safety behind a big tree, said three shots were fired in his direction but he didn't see who was shooting.
Rowley, who was at the intersection of Halleck and Kensington Avenue with several other officers, said six to eight shots were fired in his direction.
Guarnieri asked if he felt in danger of being hit.
"Absolutely," Rowley answered.
Mostella, who lives nearby, said he grabbed his gunbelt when he heard the shots and went to help. He took cover behind a cruiser with other officers. He heard shotgun pellets hit right in front of him but didn't see them.
"We didn't want to come out from cover," he said. "We didn't want to get shot at again."
Wilson, a hostage negotiator, said McKinney threatened to come out shooting, with the idea of being killed by police -- called suicide by cop. McKinney also said he had a hostage (he didn't) and gasoline to set the place on fire.
Wilson said McKinney was very agitated and wanted to see his children before surrendering, but that wasn't an option.
Liberty Patrolman Peter Deangelo testified that he learned from Youngstown's police radio broadcast that officers were being shot at and requested a rifle at the scene. Deangelo said he carries an assault rifle and responded. Deangelo said he lay in a prone position and trained his rifle on a second-story window of the house on Halleck.
meade@vindy.com