PITTSBURGH -- Ten years after a Monroeville man was shot, his recent death has prompted charges to be filed against the suspected shooter, who police were able to identify with a nickname.
Alonzo Thompkins, 37, was shot in the back and paralyzed on Rowan Street in Lincoln-Lemington in January 1999. He died earlier this year, and the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office found he died of complications stemming from the shooting.
Keith Drain, 38, of Stanton Heights, was arrested shortly after the shooting, but a new charge of homicide was filed after Thompkins died last month.
On Friday, a judge at Drain's preliminary hearing heard testimony from a police officer who recounted the victim's words right after he was shot.
"This isn't a case where our victim came forward two weeks later and came up with a name," Deputy District Attorney Mark Tranquilli said. "As he's laying there on the sidewalk on Rowan Street, shot multiple times, he immediately gives the nickname 'Banger.'"
Police said Drain was known as "Banger" on the streets.
After the hearing, Drain was ordered to stand trial at a date to be determined. He was sent back to SCI-Greene, where he's serving time on unrelated charges.
Thompkins' mother and one of his friends attended Friday's hearing at Municipal Court downtown. They both declined comment to Channel 4 Action News.
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