Suspect accused of shooting 16-year-old girl at motel in Monroeville appears in court

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — A shooting at a motel in Monroeville sent a 16-year-old girl to the hospital in January, and the man accused in the crime appeared in court on Monday.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Police searching for man accused of shooting teenage girl in Monroeville

Wearing a red jumpsuit and shackled at his hands and feet, 18-year-old DaRonte Brown filed into a police van, headed back to jail. This was the first time we saw Brown, who’s accused of shooting the teenage girl inside a room at the Red Roof Inn in Monroeville.

Court documents say when the victim refused to have sex with him, Brown pulled the trigger, saying:

“I’ll blow this “b” right now, I just caught a body yesterday. You need to ask about what I just did to them boys on the street. I’ll shoot everything up, I’ll kill y’all.”

Brown took off and was on the run for a month. 11 News asked his lawyer why he didn’t turn himself in right away.

“I’m speculating because I didn’t ask, but when you see your face on the news from the media and you’re portrayed as a monster, I think it’s probably difficult to turn yourself in,” Blaine Jones tells Channel 11.

Jones said a felony aggravated assault charge was dropped Monday, but the attempted homicide charge still stands. Jones added that there were multiple people in the room with multiple guns at the same time.

“When it comes down to it, it may be he said, she said,” Blaine Jones added. “There’s no dispute the young lady was shot, but there may be some dispute what happened leading up to that. Based on what Mr. Brown is telling me, it’s a bit more multi-layered than it appears.”

Another shooting suspect was also before a judge Monday for a different crime — also at the Red Rood Inn a month later. Police say Jamar Reese shot a man during a drunken fight in February, leaving the victim in critical condition. His case was continued.

We reached out to the Red Roof Inn for a comment about these crimes, but we were not able to get through to anyone.

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