Two men held for trial in West Chester killing

At a hearing marked by tightened courthouse security and talk of witness intimidation, two men accused of unleashing a fatal barrage of gunfire into a busy West Chester intersection were held Monday for trial.

Magisterial District Justice Gwenn Knapp ruled at the preliminary hearing for Gregory C. Arrington, 21, and James J.E. Potts Jr., 28, both of West Chester, that sufficient evidence existed to advance the case to Chester County Court, where the two face charges that include first-degree murder, attempted murder, and weapons offenses.

Police said the defendants, both of whom are convicted felons prohibited from owning firearms, shot Towayne "Snoop" Uqdah, 23, of Philadelphia, nine times in a neighborhood near the borough's business district at North Matlack and Chestnut Streets about 2 a.m. Jan. 27. West Chester Police Detective Stanley B. Billie testified that 16 shell casings from two different guns were recovered. One bullet went through the window of a home where a couple was sleeping, landing in a closet.

First Assistant District Attorney Michael G. Noone, who presented five witnesses, said he was pleased with the outcome. But the attorneys for Arrington and Potts - David S. Nenner and Patrick Link - said they were disappointed that they were prevented from questioning the witnesses' motives and ability to identify the shooters. The defense attorneys said their clients and a relative had received death threats.

Heightened tensions on both sides contributed to the decision to hold the proceeding at the Chester County Justice Center, where at least a half-dozen deputy sheriffs kept watch.

One of the spectators was Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Stacy Forchetti, who was prosecuting Arrington for attempted murder on Jan. 31. Police say on that day - the same day Potts was taken into custody on the West Chester murder charges - Arrington tried to kill Andre Tutt, one of the chief prosecution witnesses in the case.

Tutt, 26, of Philadelphia, suffered a gunshot wound in a lower leg on Jan. 31. On Monday, he testified to having visited the Spare Rib bar in West Chester with Uqdah, his cousin, on the night of Jan. 26 to 27.

Tutt said that a friend of Uqdah's, Kevin Morgan, joined them, along with the defendants. Their presence prompted his cousin - who he acknowledged was a drug dealer - to comment that he had money problems with Arrington and Potts.

The defendants, whom he had never met before, left the bar first, Tutt testified. He said he was walking to Morgan's car with Uqdah and Morgan when the defendants, displaying guns, yelled, "Don't move!"

Tutt ran out, he testified, but a bullet went through his coat and his shoe, leaving him limping. He said he heard his cousin screaming.

Morgan, 23, gave a similar description in testimony Monday, but said he had encountered Arrington before and saw only Potts at the scene of the shooting.

Jalen Newton, 19, of Downingtown, testified that Potts had called him after the homicide and said that he and Arrington were on their way to his house - and that they had "shot Snoop."