Bar guard charged in shooting death

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Bar guard charged in shooting death

Posted: 12/31/2005 4:15:55 PM EDT

Check this out. Wonder what the circumstances were here. BTW, this happened about 2 miles from my house.

Link to article

Bar guard charged in shooting death in Penn Hills
3 others hurt outside tavern

Saturday, December 31, 2005
By Jonathan D. Silver, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A Highland Park man licensed to carry a handgun was charged with criminal homicide after he shot and killed a rowdy bar patron outside a Penn Hills tavern, according to an Allegheny County police affidavit.

Police said suspect Darnell A. Tolliver, 24, of North Negley Avenue shot Jerry McCrommon III, 24, of East Hills and three companions about 9 p.m. Thursday outside the A4 Place bar in the 100 block of Nelbon Avenue.

Mr. McCrommon was fatally wounded. He died at Mercy Hospital at 9:05 p.m. of a gunshot wound of the chest.

The other victims who survived were identified by police as Earl C. Troxler, Lamar E. Ezell and Asa J. Howard. Mr. Tolliver faces three counts of aggravated assault in connection with their injuries.

Mr. Tolliver confessed to police, according to the affidavit. He said he worked as a security guard at the bar and shot the men with his 9 mm handgun during a fight in the parking lot, the affidavit said.

Police said Mr. Tolliver told them he saw the bar's owner, Nasid Aboud, arguing with a man who had been banned from the bar but refused to leave. Mr. Tolliver and Mr. Aboud escorted the man and several friends out of the bar, and the argument turned physical, the affidavit said.

During the fight, Mr. Tolliver drew his gun and shot all four victims, according to the affidavit.

Police said Mr. Tolliver had a valid permit to carry a handgun. However, state records show he was not certified under state Act 235, the Lethal Weapons Training Act, which is required for any private employee who carries a lethal weapon as a condition of employment.

It could not be determined yesterday if Mr. Tolliver was required to have Act 235 certification if he was licensed to carry a gun.

In 2002, Mr. Tolliver was arrested in Pittsburgh for carrying a gun without a license and summary traffic offenses. He was found not guilty last year of the firearms charge and guilty of the traffic infractions.

Mr. Tolliver is the son of Reginald L. Tolliver, a former Penn Hills high school vice principal.

The liquor license for A4 Place has been held by Marian Aboud since June. Before the A4 Place opened, a tavern known as Tove's Tap Room operated on the same site. State Liquor Control Board records do not show that either establishment was investigated as a nuisance bar.

Mr. McCrommon's death marks the second incident this year in which someone has been killed in Allegheny County by a bar security guard.

In May, a security guard at J&K's Place in Lawrenceville shot and killed Aaron Alston, 23, of Garfield and bar owner Janice Kemp, 63, during a fracas in which the guard was being pelted with glasses and bottles.

An investigating grand jury is still reviewing information about the case, and no charges have been filed. Authorities have refused to identify the security guard.

At the time, county District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said his office would likely look at the issue of private security guards carrying guns inside bars. He is awaiting the recommendation of the grand jury before deciding whether to take an action to modify Act 235.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Bar guard charged in shooting death

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