PITTSBURGH,None — Two teenagers were ordered to stand trial in the fatal shooting of a Pittsburgh woman who police said was an innocent bystander.
VIDEO: Teens To Stand Trial In Homewood Fatal Shooting
Robert Brown, 16, and Anthony Thomas, 15, were ordered to be tried in the March 27 fatal shooting of Cheryl Esseny, 60, in the city's Homewood neighborhood.
Investigators said Brown and Thomas each fired at a passing vehicle along Frankstown Road from a railroad trestle March 27 evening. One of the bullets struck Esseny, who had just left a nearby library.
A friend of the suspects testified at a preliminary hearing Friday, but his testimony differed from what police said he initially told them.
Police said the witness initially told them he heard gunshots and then the suspects ran into his house, said an old lady was down and hid a gun in his ceiling.
But on Friday, the witness testified that he didn't remember the incident and that he was high all day.
Asked about the witness' credibility, Thomas' attorney, Paul Gettleman, said, "You mean the one who was taking Ecstasy and smoking weed all day? That speaks for itself."
Brown's attorney, Stacey Stiner, said there was no evidence against her client.
"I'm saying there's no evidence against him, other than the word of the gentleman who says he may have heard my client say something while he was high and taking pills," she said.
Authorities said Thomas told them he and Brown each fired shots at a car believed to have been carrying the intended target, Romeo Price, 21. However, police said the man they thought they were shooting at was in jail at the time.
Price was acquitted last year in the 2008 shooting death of Ernest Tolliver, 15.
Both teens face homicide charges.
Previous Stories: March 29, 2010: Woman Shot In Homewood Was Regular At Library; 15-Year-Old Charged
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