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Authorities have charged a Morrisville resident for allegedly chasing down and shooting a man he suspected of trying to illegally enter his car.
Baishaun Jones, 39, was charged Friday with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. He was arraigned and released on $100,000 unsecured bail.
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According to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, Jones shot 19-year-old Trenton resident Joshua Dennis after he chased him through the streets of Morrisville Borough before shooting him in the arm. Dennis allegedly was spotted by Jones jimmying the door of his vehicle parked on Woodlane Avenue around 4:30 a.m. Thursday.
Jones had his girlfriend call 9-1-1 and used his car to block Jones’ from exiting his neighborhood after spotting him allegedly casing more vehicles, police said.
Dennis reportedly saw Jones and fled the area by driving a Chevrolet Tracker SUV, which was stolen from Union, New Jersey earlier this week, between Jones’ car and an apartment building wall to escape. Jones said he was nearly hit in the interaction but did not fire the handgun he had with him.
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Jones pursued Dennis as he fled through Morrisville. In the area of Harper and Hillside avenues, Jones fired his gun in an unsuccessful attempt to disable Dennis’ vehicle by deflating its left rear tire. The chase continued until Dennis crashed the Tracker in the area of West Bridge Street and North Pennsylvania Avenue, police said.
“Jones stopped his Honda next to the crashed vehicle and a shouted conversation ensued in which Jones told Dennis to stay in the vehicle or get down on the ground and wait for the police. Instead, Dennis exited the vehicle and attempted to run from the scene. Jones got out of his vehicle and fired twice more at Dennis in an attempt to stop him. One of those shots struck Dennis in the left elbow,” a press release from the district attorney’s office said.
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Dennis, who tried to flee on foot, and Jones were both detained. The Trenton man was charged with receiving stolen property, unauthorized use of a vehicle, loitering and prowling at nighttime and attempted theft from a vehicle. Jones was released after questing Thursday and turned himself in for arraignment Friday.
Dennis survived the shooting but underwent surgery and will need another operation, authorities said.
Jones, who legally owned the 9mm handgun used in the shooting, had previously been the victim of a theft from his vehicle and similar incidents had recently happened in his neighborhood, authorities said.
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“I personally respect Mr. Jones’ efforts to passively detain Dennis. However, once he had a good look at the offender and the license number of his vehicle, he should have stopped. After observing the videos, it is plain that the chase itself could have caused the injury of innocent persons and discharging a firearm in the close quarters of Morrisville represents an even greater danger to the public, even at quarter to five in the morning,” District Attorney David Heckler said.
He added, “the second moral I would underscore is that having a lawfully possessed firearm and even having a permit to carry it on your person does not make you Wyatt Earp cleaning up the streets of Tombstone. Theft from automobiles is not a crime which under any circumstances would warrant the use of deadly force in apprehension. However public spirited Mr. Jones’ intentions may have been, the results could have been tragic.”
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Heckler also stated that Jones should have trusted police to handle the incident. He added that Morrisville officers responded to the call within 30 seconds of the crash.
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Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
