Baishaun Jones, 39, was charged in connection with the early Thursday shooting of Joshua Dennis, 19, of Trenton.
MORRISVILLE, Pa. -- A Morrisville man was charged with multiple aggravated assault charges Friday for chasing and shooting a Trenton teen he says was trying to break into his car Thursday, the Bucks County Courier Times reported.
Baishaun Jones, 39, was charged in connection with the early Thursday shooting of Joshua Dennis, 19, of Trenton, the paper reported.
Jones told police he was awakened around 4:30 a.m. Thursday and found Dennis tampering with his vehicle's door, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Jones, who is licensed to carry a handgun, picked up his 9-millimeter handgun and went to investigate, the paper reported.
Outside, Jones reportedly saw Dennis park a car - which police say was reported stolen Tuesday in Union, N.J. - so Jones used his own car to block the would-be thief, but Dennis realized he was being watched and fled in the stolen car, the paper reported.
Jones jumped into his car and gave chase, firing his gun at the stolen vehicle, aiming for the rear driver's side tire as both cars wound through town, the affidavit said.
Dennis lost control while attempting a turn onto Bridge Street headed toward Trenton, crashing into a hair salon.
Jones got out of his vehicle and fired twice more at Dennis, who was wounded in the left elbow, the paper reported.
"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," Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said in statement.
"The thief (Jones) was chasing was not armed and Mr. Jones had no reason to believe that he was," Heckler said in the paper's report. "At the time Mr. Jones shot, Mr. Dennis was not presently engaged in committing a crime, but was fleeing under circumstances, which gave no indication that he posed an immediate threat either to Mr. Jones or to others in the community."
Dennis faces charges of receiving stolen property and related charges.
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