An inmate was shot dead by guards during a hostage-taking attempt at the Cambria County prison, state police said.
Torone Dixon, 25, of Philadelphia, was killed around 10:45 p.m. Friday night by the prison’s emergency response team when he tried to use a homemade knife on a guard he had taken hostage, prison officials said.
The prison was locked down after Dixon assaulted guard Ross Morelli, 23, and took him hostage, according to corrections officials. The prison’s emergency response team entered the housing unit about two hours after the incident began.
Authorities said they could not subdue Dixon with non-lethal force, and that the inmate was shot when he tried to use the homemade knife.
Another inmate, Adam Cosgrove, 22, also was injured.
Morelli, Cosgrove and Dixon were taken to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, where Dixon was pronounced dead at 11:53 p.m., prison officials said.
AP reported that Sheriff Bob Kolar told The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown that Morelli has his jaw wired shut and was badly bruised, but is expected to recover. Cosgrove was grazed by a ricocheting bullet, but is also expected to recover, Kolar said.
Dixon was scheduled to be tried in January on homicide charges stemming from the April 27 slaying of James Tucker, 23, of Altoona, officials said.
Prosecutors accused Dixon, who faced the death penalty, of shooting Tucker three times along a gravel road near the Blair County line because he believed Tucker had stolen money and drugs from him.
Also arrested in the case were John E. Mease, 28, of Bellwood, and Damien Marcus Pierce, 31, of Altoona. They were charged with criminal conspiracy to commit homicide, aggravated assault, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.
A woman with ties to northern Blair County who allegedly picked up Tucker the night he was murdered was also charged in the case. Christina Theresa DeStefano was charged with criminal conspiracy to commit robbery.
Her arrest stemmed from events that unfolded on April 27 when she allegedly picked up Tucker in Altoona. Tucker’s body was found burning later the same night on Fire Tower Road in Reade Township, Cambria County near Blandburg. When Tucker left Altoona, he had thousands of dollars in cash and crack cocaine in his possession according to court documents.
In the days following the murder, police could not locate DeStefano or Dixon. Authorities received information that the pair may have been at a trailer in Grazierville the day after the murder. The trailer belonged to a family member of DeStefano’s and she and Dixon were due to move in on May 1.
Court documents show DeStefano told her grandmother she was being held against her will in a phone call placed on April 30. Police got permission to enter the trailer and no one was inside. Police obtained search warrants for the trailer and retrieved evidence. They also retrieved evidence from a car found near the trailer they believed Dixon might have been using. Police wanted the evidence in connection with Tucker’s murder and had concern about possible foul play regarding DeStefano.
A missing person’s report was filed regarding DeStefano and she later turned up in Philadelphia when she flagged down a police officer. The AP reported she told the officer she was being held against her will. Authorities said she had not been physically harmed.
The Associated Press reported that court documents show DeStefano drove Tucker to the site where he was killed according to police.
AP reported DeStefano and Tucker smoked marijuana until the alleged triggerman and his two alleged accomplices arrived, police said in court documents. After Tucker was killed, the three men and DeStefano returned to her trailer, police said.
Dixon had been charged with criminal homicide, first and second degree murder, aggravated assault, robbery, criminal conspiracy to commit robbery and other charges. Dixon allegedly shot Tucker three times before his body was set ablaze. He was arrested in the Philadelphia area and was transported back to Cambria County where he was arraigned in May and lodged in the Cambria County Prison without bail.
He was held for trial after a preliminary hearing in late June. Mease and Pierce were also held at Cambria County Prison after their arraignments. They waived their preliminary hearings.
DeStefano testified at Dixon’s preliminary hearing. She was released on $50,000 bond after her arraignment in May.
