Court hearing postponed for suspect in New Castle shooting

STAFF REPORT

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — A preliminary hearing for a man accused of shooting a man four times last month was postponed Tuesday.

Jon A. Campbell, 52, of New Castle, was taken to a hospital from Lawrence County Jail shortly before he was to appear in county Central Court, at 11:30 a.m., court personnel said. The jail reported he had not returned from the hospital by late afternoon.

Campbell is charged with shooting Eric Grimm, 27, of Ellwood City, at a house on Florence Avenue in New Castle on Jan. 12.

Grimm told police he was shot by someone outside the kitchen window. He later picked Campbell out of a photo lineup, court documents said.

Also postponed was a preliminary hearing for Vernon L. McKinney Jr., 24, of New Castle, who is charged with raping a 5-year-old girl from December 2006 through July 2008.

The assaults are alleged to have taken place at a home in New Castle that McKinney shared with a woman, court documents said. Court personnel said the hearing was postponed pending further investigation. McKinney remained in jail on $1,000 bond.