By Mary Pickels
Published: Thursday, October 18, 2012, 12:28 p.m.
Updated 54 minutes ago
"A drug deal gone bad" resulted in the arrest Thursday morning of a Mt. Pleasant Borough teen who allegedly shot and wounded a man, police said.
Keenan Dwayne Frye, 18, was arraigned before Norvelt District Judge Roger Eckels on criminal attempt homicide and other charges in the shooting of Joshua Grimm at 10:53 p.m. Wednesday.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Dan Zilli, the borough's assistant police chief, Grimm identified Frye as the shooter from his hospital bed.
"When asked why Keenan shot him, Grimm replied, 'It was a drug deal gone bad,' " Zilli wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Police went to the intersection of Warden Alley and South Silver Street because someone reported a shooting. They learned that a man had just walked into the emergency room at Excela Health Frick Hospital and collapsed from multiple gunshot wounds.
Grimm was flown to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh. A spokeswoman said he was in good condition Thursday.
Witnesses told police that they saw Frye and Grimm walking down South Silver Street together and arguing. The altercation escalated, and Frye "pulled a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber handgun and fired four shots," according to the affidavit.
Police issued an alert for Frye, who ran off, and state police and other investigators began a search.
Technology may have played a role in Frye's arrest as well as previous charges brought against him.
Borough police confirmed that Facebook tips helped in locating Frye, and an iPod video of a fight led to police filing additional charges against him.
State police found Frye early Thursday morning along Route 31, between Mt. Pleasant and Ruffsdale. He was taken to the Mt. Pleasant police station at about 1:40 a.m.
Frye was carrying a backpack containing a plastic bag of marijuana, a digital scale, a loaded Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver and numerous spent rounds, police said.
Investigators determined Frye did not have a license for the gun.
Frye was arraigned before Eckels on additional charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment, manufacture of controlled substances and two counts of possession. He also was arraigned on two separate cases that had been filed with Eckels on Wednesday.
Borough police charged Frye with harassment, disorderly conduct and simple assault for a Sept. 12 incident, when he allegedly punched a young man in the head multiple times.
The incident near Silver Street allegedly began between two students on a bus who met after school to fight. The victim said Frye and another man attacked him from behind. The boy was treated for bruising on his head, face and ribs and a possible concussion, police said.
The iPod video and a witness statement led to the charges, police said.
State police filed separate charges against Frye on Wednesday related to an incident in Mt. Pleasant Township on Sept. 19.
Frye was charged with terroristic threats, simple assault and reckless endangerment after he allegedly waved a knife and threatened to kill a male at Young Apartments. Borough police restrained Frye and recovered the knife, according to an affidavit.
Eckels asked Frye if he needed a public defender. He replied, "I'm not sure."
"What is your address?" Eckels asked.
"I don't know. We just moved," Frye said.
Greensburg Salem School District records show Frye was a student there as a freshman and sophomore, according to Superintendent Eileen Amato.
"He withdrew in 2010," Amato said.
Frye told Eckels he is unemployed and has no ties to the community.
Eckels scheduled a preliminary hearing for all three cases for Oct. 25. Frye's bond was set at $150,000 on the shooting incident and $5,000 each on the summary cases.
He remains in the Westmoreland County Prison.
"The problem with drugs is that they are everywhere," said borough Mayor Jerry Lucia. "We are not exempt, by any means.
"We, the police department, do try to track down all of our leads. ... (Police) wish they could be 100 percent successful. We will continue to put forth the stringent efforts we have been to get drugs off the streets," he said.
Lucia said he doesn't know Frye or Grimm.
"I feel badly for the families of both of them. It shouldn't have happened," he said.
Mary Pickels is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at mpickels@tribweb.com or at 724-836-5401. Staff writer Renatta Signorini contributed.
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