This article was origionally published on www.erienewsnow.com on Nov 18th by Emily Matson

The three suspects, charged for their role in a deadly shootout earlier this year, made their way into court Friday.
The judge bound over all charges to trial, for each defendant.

During their preliminary hearing, as Judge Dominick DiPaolo ruled all charges for each defendant would go on to trial, he said “We’re lucky we only have one homicide victim… with all the shooting that was going on.”

The three defendants are charged in connection to the deadly shootout in April, on west 26th street.

It happened as a house party was going on, at a nearby apartment.

Erie police recovered a total of 44 spent shell casings, from bullets fired from at least three different guns.

Police say Jamaine Gambill, 30, fired multiple shots from out of a window of a home.

Erie Police Detective Sergeant Christoper Janus testified Friday that Gambill told police he fired shots out of the window, because when he heard the gunfire, he believed somebody was firing shots at the home.

But police say there is no evidence he was fired at, and he recklessly fired his gun towards people who were outside.

Gambill is charged with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, and firearms not to be carried without a license.
Ashton Pullium-Jones, 24, is accused of spraying 25 shots into the neighborhood, from a 9 MM Glock found ditched at the scene, with his fingerprints on it.

Det. Sgt. Janus testified they were able to attribute 25 of the spell casings recovered from the scene, to the gun they found behind the home, with two of Pullium-Jones fingerprints on the slide of the firearm.

Janus also testified to what two witnesses told detectives. Both of them told police they saw Pullium-Jones shooting a gun during the shootout.

And Marquis Knight, 27, is charged with homicide.

He’s the one who police say fired the gun that killed 19-year-old Allen Basham.

Det. Sgt. Janus testified Friday that two witnesses also saw Marquis Knight firing a gun at Basham.

One of those witnesses was with Basham, and told police when he got out of the car and started walking to the party, he saw Knight open fire on Basham.

Under cross examination, Janus testified the other witness told detectives he saw Knight fire shots at Basham, but Basham fired first.

But police also relied on ballistic evidence to tied Knight to Basham’s murder.

After his arrest, police served a search warrant at Knight’s home.

Inside his bedroom, Janus testified they found a .40 caliber shell casing, and determined it was fired through the same gun, as seven of the .40 caliber shell casings found at the scene.

Det. Sgt. Janus said police found a gun on the homicide victim, at the scene. Under cross examination, he said Knight’s vehicle was shot at and had two bullet holes. But, police were not able to recover the projectiles to determine what kind of gun the shots came from.

While the judge determined the evidence was enough to send the case on to trial, the court also relied on testimony provided solely by Erie Police Det. Sgt. Janus.

The prosecution was able to do so because of the state law: Commonwealth vs. Ricker, which allows hearsay evidence at preliminary hearings, so no witnesses testified Friday.

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At Sebald, Hackwelder, & Knox, we have many years of experience representing people accused of serious crimes such as murder and homicide. If you have been charged with or are being investigated for someone’s death, don’t hesitate to contact our criminal defense attorneys at our offices in Erie, Pennsylvania. We never charge for initial consultations with our criminal defense attorneys.