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WILKES-BARRE — A man from Carbondale accused by Lehman Township police with shooting another man near the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus in May 2023, pled guilty to felony assault and firearm offenses Monday.
Zahiar Kevon Lee, 19, pled guilty to aggravated assault and possession of a firearm with an altered serial number before Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas.
Prosecutors withdrew a second aggravated assault count including charges of simple assault, firearms not to be carried without a license and reckless endangerment against Lee.
Lehman Township police in court records alleged Lee shot Nacier M. Green at a party on Nittany Drive on May 6, 2023.
As Lee and Green left an apartment, a witness told police they argued about a woman at the party, court records say.
Police in court records say Green attempted to punch Lee who brandished a firearm and discharged a round. Green suffered a gunshot wound to his upper chest that punctured a lung. He was treated at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township.
Police recovered a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun in a wooded area about 230 feet from where the shooting took place, court records say.
Lee’s attorney, Nathan Stanton, previously filed a motion seeking to preclude gunshot residue test results as his client was not read his Miranda rights.
Police tested Lee’s hands for gunshot residue following the shooting.
Lupas scheduled Lee to be sentenced Aug. 6. Lee remains free on $100,000 bail.