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PLYMOUTH — An 18-year-old is accused of shooting another man in the face during an attempted robbery, and then later resisting arrest and assaulting police.
Azijamere Le Carmichael, who lists addresses in Plymouth and Wilkes-Barre, allegedly opened a door of Alton Jenkins’ vehicle while Jenkins was at a stop sign on Willow Street in Plymouth about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. Jenkins reported that Carmichael “stuck a gun” in his face, according to a complaint.
Here’s what court papers say happened next:
Jenkins said Carmichael told him to “give me all your s—-.”
Jenkins observed the gun Carmichael was holding — which he believed to be a .22-caliber long-barreled revolver — was rusted around the cylinder. That led him to believe it would not work. So he told Carmichael, “you ain’t a f——ing killer.”
At that point, Jenkins began reaching for his own handgun. That’s when Carmichael shot him in the face. Jenkins returned fire, and fled to his girlfriend’s house, who took him to the hospital.
Jenkins suffered a gunshot wound to the left side of his face in the jaw area, and extensive soft and hard tissue damage in multiple areas of his mouth.
Carmichael became a person of interest Thursday after police investigated a report about a gunshot victim seeking treatment at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital. Carmichael suffered a gunshot wound to his right hand as a result of Jenkins’ fire.
Police interviewed Jenkins and presented him with an eight-person photo lineup. Carmichael was one of those pictured, and Jenkins positively identified Carmichael as the shooter.
After leaving the station to head home, Jenkins saw Carmichael walking on Cherry Street and notified police.
Officers Michael Thomas and Jesus Marmolejos found Carmichael and told him to stop walking, and Carmichael began to run. The teen was eventually taken to the ground by the officers, but continued to resist.
As Thomas walked him to his cruiser, Carmichael began to thrash, causing the officer to trip over a curb and lose his grasp on the suspect. Carmichael ran down Cherry Street and onto High Street as the officers pursued him. An attempt to Taser the teen was unsuccessful. As Marmolejos pursued Carmichael, he led the officer to a rocky embankment, which the two fell down.
Marmolejos was eventually able to wrestle him to the ground, and Carmichael then bit Marmolejos on his arm.
Marmolejos was taken to the hospital for extreme chest pain and difficulty breathing due to the fall.
For the alleged shooting, Carmichael is charged with aggravated assault, robbery, unlawfully possessing a firearm and related counts.
For the alleged struggle with police, his charges include aggravated assault, escape and resisting arrest.
In the resisting case, he was arraigned on $100,000 straight bail. Unable to post that amount, he was committed to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.
A preliminary hearing for the charges against Carmichael relating to his altercation with police is scheduled for 10 a.m. Jan. 10 before District Judge Donald Whittaker, according to online court records.
It’s unclear if he has been arraigned yet for the alleged shooting.