Sister Of Gunned-Down 12-Year-Old Says Bullets Were Meant For Her

POSTED: 4:15 pm EST February 15, 2008
UPDATED: 5:57 pm EST February 15, 2008

PITTSBURGH -- Two neighborhood gang members accused of shooting up a North Side house and killing a 12-year-old girl went there gunning for the child's adult sister instead, she testified on Friday.

Jolesa Barber was shot dead when about 40 rounds from an AK-47 assault-style rifle were fired through the front door of a home on Brightridge Street on Jan. 28, Pittsburgh police said.

At a preliminary hearing on Friday, Rayneisa Wade described how the gunfire tore into her home that night and killed her young sister, Jolesa.

She told the judge that a woman whose neighboring home had been hit by gunfire previously was challenging her to fight. According to Wade, the neighbor said, "First we fight with fists. Then we fight with guns. We're going to shoot this house up."

Police were called to the house, but after they left, the shooting happened, Wade said.

Wade testified she and her family dove to the floor and that her mother, Kimberly, said, "I'm hit."

The family told Jolesa to drop to the floor, but the girl was shot several times in the chest, Wade said.

Kimberly Wade, who is using a walker because of her injuries, wept in court while her daughter testified.

Two suspects -- Anthony Wilson, 30, and Michael Gist, 15 -- are accused of being the shooters. Police have identified both as members of the North Charles Crips, a local street gang.

A police detective testified that Gist admitted firing shots at the house with a Glock 9 mm, then going into a neighbor's home to play a video game. Police said Gist told them he looked from a window and saw paramedics carrying away Jolesa on a stretcher.

Another detective testified that Wilson admitted to the shooting over the course of a six-hour police interview. He said Wilson told him, "I'm a menace to society."

The defense said Wilson is mentally ill and disputes the confession.

"I did ask the detective in court if he was aware that he had been diagnosed as schizophrenic and that he had recently been in involuntary mental health treatment," said defense attorney Wendy Williams.

Wilson and Gist remain in the Allegheny County Jail, awaiting trial on charges of homicide, aggravated assault and attempted homicide. No trial date has been set.

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