An attorney for a man from Carbondale, who is accused of shooting someone at a party in Lehman Township, is trying to get rid of a gunshot residue test.
Zahiar Kevon Lee, 19, and a 14-year-old boy had their hands covered and tested for gunshot residue after being stopped by a Dallas Borough police officer near the site of a shooting close to the Penn State – Wilkes-Barre campus on May 6, 2023, according to court records.
Lee’s lawyer, Benjamin Stanton, wants to exclude the gunshot residue test because his client was not informed of his Miranda rights.
Stanton has requested this in a pre-trial motion that will be discussed at a motions hearing on Friday before Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas.
Lee is facing charges from Lehman Township police for shooting Nacier M. Green at a party on Nittany Drive.
According to court records, Lee and Green were arguing at the party about a woman. During the argument, Green tried to hit Lee, who then pulled out a gun and shot him in the upper chest, puncturing a lung, court records reveal.
Green survived the shooting.
While police in the Back Mountain area were responding to the scene, a Dallas Borough police officer saw Lee and a young person walking about half a mile away from the off-campus apartment complex.
According to court records, Lee and the young person had their hands covered and were later tested for gunshot residue.
Stanton argued in his pre-trial motion that Lee was in police custody for many hours and had his hands tested for gunshot residue even though he was not informed of his Miranda rights.
Stanton also wants any statements made by Lee to the police to be excluded.
In a related matter, prosecutors have been granted approval to add more charges — possession of a firearm with an altered serial number and reckless endangerment — against Lee, who also faces two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of simple assault and firearms not to be carried without a license.
According to police in court records, they found a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun in a wooded area about 230 feet from where the shooting occurred. Police claim that the serial number on the handgun had been altered.
Lee’s trial on the charges is set for June.
