Openings expected in fatal Pa. rapper shooting

Openings expected in fatal Pa. rapper shooting

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — Opening statements are expected in the trial of a man accused of killing an aspiring rapper outside a central Pennsylvania concert.

Monday is the two-year anniversary of the shooting that killed 20-year-old Cornell Stewart following a concert in Columbia, Lancaster County.

Prosecutors say Jakeem Towles killed shot and killed Stewart following a dispute inside the venue. Investigators say Stewart, who went by the stage name Young E-Z, was struck in the head by a shot Towles fired at a man standing next to him.

The Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era reports at least four witnesses identified Towles as the shooter during interviews with police.

Prosecutors say they’ll pursue the death penalty if Towles is convicted of first-degree murder.