Redstone Township man arraigned in shooting of friend

The case of a Redstone Township man accused of fatally shooting his friend went to trial Tuesday.

State police alleged that Edmund Parson, 76, shot James Tucker, 75, on May 24 in front of Ronald Woods, Parson’s brother-in-law and Tucker’s friend.

Woods testified that he saw no provocation before his brother-in-law shot Tucker in Parsons’ living room.

“(Parsons) was just quiet,” Woods told Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele during Tuesday’s preliminary hearing. “He just sat there after he shot Jimmy the first time.”

Woods testified that he went to Parsons’ house around 9 a.m. after family members called him and asked him to sit with Parsons because he had been “talking strange” that morning.

According to Woods’ testimony, he sat with Parson for about an hour when Parsons asked him to call Tucker and ask him to come over.

“He knew Jimmy well,” Woods testified. “There were times when I couldn’t take (Parsons) to work and he would call Jimmy (Tucker) to give him a ride.”

After Tucker’s arrival, the three men sat mostly in silence in Parsons’ living room for more than an hour, according to Wood’s statement. Parson then stood up, walked to the chair where Tucker was sitting and opened fire, he told Aubele.

“It happened so quickly without anything being said about it,” Woods testified. “After he was shot, Jimmy fell back in his chair, holding his arms.”

Assistant Public Defender Travis Rhodes asked Woods why he didn’t leave immediately after Tucker was shot.

“Where should I go? “I didn’t know if he was going to move or if he was going to shoot me next,” Woods responded.

Woods further testified that Parson was silent for about “five or six seconds” before he shot Tucker again in what appeared to be in his stomach. The two men then sat in silence before Parson put the gun on the table, Woods testified, and managed to grab the gun and restrain his brother-in-law.

Woods testified that he asked Parson if he knew what he had done.

“He kept saying, ‘I didn’t shoot anyone,'” Woods testified.

District Judge Ronald Haggerty Jr. charged Parson with criminal homicide, possession of a weapon, terroristic threats and simple assault, which were presented to him for trial in Fayette County Court of Common Pleas. Parson is being held without bail in the Fayette County Jail.