Harrisburg Police Chief Thomas Carter speaks as Mayor Eric Papenfuse looks on during today’s press briefing on the robbery and shooting involving four teens and two state legislators.
Harrisburg teenagers arrested today in an armed robbery involving a shoot-out with two state legislators have been implicated in a similar crime that took place Monday night at the foot of the Capitol building.
Harrisburg Police Chief Thomas Carter said today that the same four teens would be charged in connection with an armed robbery at N. 3rd and State streets, in which three legislative staffers were robbed as they exited the Capitol grounds.
“I can confirm that it’s the same individuals,” said Carter during a press briefing this afternoon.
Zha-quan McGhee, 15, has been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, robbery, conspiracy robbery and possession of a firearm by a minor after allegedly attempting to hold up state Rep. Marty Flynn (D-Scranton) and Rep. Ryan Bizzarro (D-Erie). His alleged accomplices, all charged with robbery and conspiracy robbery, are Jamani Ellison, 17, Derek Anderson, 17, and Jyair Leonard, 15.
All four suspects are being charged as adults, officials said.
The legislators were accosted as they walked down the 200-block of Herr Street at about 11 p.m. last night as they headed back to the house they rent on N. 2nd Street.
According to Flynn, the pair had a late dinner at a downtown restaurant with several other legislators, then walked with two colleagues back to the Capitol. They were almost home in Midtown when they encountered the teenagers.
McGhee allegedly threatened both men with a handgun, demanding their wallets, said Flynn, who then pulled out his own, legally registered handgun. Carter said that McGhee fired once and Flynn twice, though no one was hit. Three casings and one projectile have been recovered from the crime scene so far, police said.
Officials said that police responded quickly, catching three of the suspects within five minutes of the 911 call. The fourth suspect was arrested early this morning.
Papenfuse attributed the rapid response to the fact that police had beefed up patrols in the downtown and Midtown areas following the robbery on Monday night. About eight additional police were on duty at the time, said Carter.
Papenfuse and Carter both lamented the “foolishness” of how the teenagers behaved, citing the dangerous mix of youth and guns. Three of the four were Harrisburg High School students.
“Don’t mess with guns,” said Papenfuse. “If you mess with guns, you’re going to jail.”
Officials at Wednesday’s press conference also suggested that the suspects had escalated from committing more minor crimes, such as auto break-ins, to Tuesday night’s attempted robbery, but did not provide details about prior incidents.
One of the suspects, Jyair Leonard, wrote on his Facebook page on Oct. 10 that he had been expelled from Harrisburg High. In a comment below the posting, he explained he “snapped” on a principal in the school office. A public relations officer with the district did not return a phone call requesting comment.
Papenfuse added that this incident lends more urgency to the need to reinstate Harrisburg’s school resource officer program, which was suspended several years ago for budgetary reasons. He first made that call last week after a student was sexually assaulted a block away from Harrisburg High School.
The city has drafted a proposal for rebooting the program to present to district officials, Papenfuse said. The school district would be expected to fund the cost of the program, which he estimated would be around $500,000 per year.
Staff writer Paul Barker contributed reporting for this story.
