PSU Player Involved In Shooting

Brad Jones, a freshman linebacker at Penn State, was in serious condition Monday after being shot in the neck from point-blank range.

Police said Jones, 21, was shot Sunday around 2:30 a.m., following an argument Saturday night with Lanyere Rockamore, 25, and Albert Reid, 25, both of Pittsburgh. After walking away from the first exchange, Jones encountered the two men again. They were in one car and he was in another heading an opposite direction.

Rockamore, driving the car, pulled alongside and fired a .357 magnum as Jones rolled down the window, authorities said. The bullet ricocheted off Jones' spine and lodged in his chest.

"There was some kind of confrontation but we don't know the full extent," Monessen Police Chief Gary Tretter said. "To me, it seems there had to be something more serious than words exchanged. He wasn't trying to scare him. He was trying to kill this boy."

Tretter said the 6-foot-2, 256-pound Jones was coherent after the shooting.

"From what they say, it was his size that kept him alive," Tretter said. "I mean, he was shot point-blank with a .357."

Tretter, who spoke to Jones' parents Sunday night, said Jones had no movement below the waist, but the doctors did not know if it would be permanent. But Monessen football coach Jack Scarvel, who had also spoken with relatives, told The Valley Independent that Jones "has complete movement."

A spokesman at Allegheny General Hospital would only say that he was in serious condition.

Rockamore was arrested about 3 a.m. following a short chase. Reid was arrested as he tried to flee a house about 3:10 a.m.

The two men were charged with criminal conspiracy to commit homicide. Rockamore also was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a controlled substance and other charges. Eight large bags of marijuana were found in his vehicle, Tretter said.

Rockamore already faced preliminary hearing Friday on unrelated charges of possessing crack co2caine.

Both men were bring held in the Westmoreland County Jail.

Jones was a fullback who led Monessen High to a state championship game in 1995. He initially committed to Pitt, but went to Kiski School to improve his academics and decided to go to Penn State.

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