A woman was injured early Monday morning after police say a man assaulted her with a handgun and fired a shot into the ground before fleeing the scene, eventually getting caught five miles away in the parking lot of a casino. Destin Johnson, who police say traveled to the area from Birmingham, Alabama, now faces a lengthy list of felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from the overnight incident in the City of Washington.
According to WPXI, police responded to reports of shots fired in the 300 block of Locust Avenue, where they say Johnson had assaulted a woman with a handgun and fired a round into the ground. The woman sustained injuries, though police indicated there is no threat to the public following the arrest. Johnson allegedly left the scene before officers arrived, according to the station's report.
From Locust Avenue to a Casino Parking Lot
Local radio station WJPA reported that Washington County 911 dispatchers received the initial shots-fired call at approximately 2:30 a.m., with early notes indicating no injuries and that the suspect had fled in a vehicle. WPXI separately reported the call came in around 2:43 a.m. Police ultimately located Johnson in the parking lot of Hollywood Casino at the Meadows in North Strabane Township, where he was arrested, the same account notes.
The 300 block of Locust Avenue sits roughly five miles south of the casino at 210 Racetrack Road, according to Visit Washington County. Hollywood Casino at the Meadows is a licensed Category 1 casino in North Strabane Township, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
A Stack of Felony Charges
Johnson is facing aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats, possessing instruments of crime, and persons not to possess firearms charges, per the station's report. The aggravated assault with a deadly weapon count alone is graded as a second-degree felony under Pennsylvania law, punishable by up to 10 years in state prison and a maximum fine of $25,000, according to the Dorward Law Firm.
The persons-not-to-possess charge carries similarly steep exposure. Possessing a firearm as a prohibited person under Pennsylvania's Uniform Firearms Act is also a second-degree felony, carrying up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $25,000, according to attorney Phil DiLucente. The constitutionality of that same felon-in-possession ban was upheld this past July by the Pennsylvania Superior Court in Commonwealth v. Randolph, according to Goldstein Mehta LLC.
The possessing-instruments-of-crime count adds further potential prison time. Under state statute, that offense is classified as a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to five years in prison, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
Bail Denied, Questions Remain
Bond was denied for Johnson following his arrest, per WPXI. Pennsylvania's constitution allows magistrates to withhold bail when no combination of release conditions can reasonably assure public safety, a mechanism outlined under Article I, Section 14, according to attorney William Weiss.
WPXI also reported that Johnson resides in Birmingham, Alabama, located more than 600 miles from Washington County, raising questions about why he was in the area that remain unanswered in available reporting. The relationship between Johnson and the woman he allegedly assaulted has likewise not been detailed publicly.
The overnight arrest adds to a string of recent public safety incidents in the City of Washington. Just two days earlier, a vehicle crashed into church steps on Montgomery Avenue, injuring multiple people and sending two victims to Pittsburgh hospitals by helicopter, as previously reported by Hoodline.
