Teens charged with firing guns outside Lancaster Township apartment complex have cases proceed to county court

Two teenagers charged with unleashing a barrage of gunfire on a group of bystanders in a parking lot outside a Lancaster Township apartment complex will have their cases proceed to county court after waiving their preliminary hearings yesterday, and a third is scheduled for a preliminary hearing of their own next week.

Nahkell Brown, of the 500 block of Green Street in Lancaster city, waived his preliminary hearing before Judge Mary Mongiovi Sponaugle on March 18 on three counts of aggravated assault, a single count of discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, five counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count each of firearms not to be carried without a license, receiving stolen property and possession of a firearm by a minor.

Later the same day, Terrance Mitchell, of the 1600 block of Temple Avenue in Manor Township, waived his preliminary hearing before Judge Sponaugle on three counts of aggravated assault and one count each of discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, recklessly endangering another person, firearms not to be carried without a license, receiving stolen property and possession of a firearm by a minor.

A third teen, Keziah Malik Foster, of the 1100 block of High Street in Lancaster city, is scheduled to face a preliminary hearing next week before Judge Sponaugle on two counts of aggravated assault, one count of discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, five counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count each of carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a firearm by a minor and receiving stolen property.

Brown and Mitchell, both 16, and Foster, 17, are accused of firing between 10 to 20 rounds on the group as they stood in a parking lot near an apartment complex in the 200 block of Dickens Drive the afternoon of Feb. 10.

No one was injured in the shooting, though four people in the parking lot could be seen on surveillance ducking for cover as Brown, Mitchell and Foster opened fire shortly before 4 p.m. Information gathered during the course of the investigation indicated that one of the bystanders was the intended target of the shooting.

Multiple buildings and vehicles were struck by gunfire, including one round that penetrated the exterior wall of an apartment and passed within several feet of a woman inside.

Several eyewitnesses and video surveillance footage indicated that the shooters were driving a vehicle later determined to have been stolen from a Lancaster Township address the day before.

Surveillance footage showed the three conspirators driving toward the parking lot and firing several shots from inside the passenger side of the vehicle. A second surveillance video then shows one of the vehicle’s occupants exit the driver’s seat and fire several additional shots.

Police stopped the vehicle in the 200 block of Stone Mill Road and arrested Brown and Mitchell after they attempted to flee on foot into Manor Township. Police were initially unable to capture Foster, who they eventually arrested about two weeks later.

A privately manufactured “ghost” handgun was found several feet away from where police arrested Brown and Mitchell.

Both Brown and Mitchell remain in Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center on $200,000 bail.

Foster remains in custody without bail, which has not yet been set in his case.

Lancaster Township Police Officer George Carlson filed all three sets of charges.

Assistant District Attorney Andrew Harbaugh will prosecute the cases.

All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.