By Steve Marroni
pennlive.com
MCKEESPORT, Pa. — Four people are facing charges after investigators say they helped the man accused of shooting a McKeesport police officer elude authorities.
Koby Lee Francis, 22, of McKeesport, was accused Dec. 20 of shooting and injuring Officer Gerasimos Athans as he escaped custody, still in handcuffs.
Now, Gesiah Grigsby, Jasmyn Henderson-Bracey, Justine Kenyatta and Daniel Neal are facing hindering apprehension charges after investigators say each was caught on surveillance cameras around Francis, WTAE is reporting.
Investigators searched a home on Freemont Street in McKeesport after they learned Francis may have been there and found Grigsby and Henderson-Bracey at the home, WPXI is reporting. The next day, officers searched another address connected to Francis in Crawford Village and again found Henderson-Bracey there. She told detectives she talked with Francis occasionally on Facebook but had stopped after learning about the shooting, reports indicate.
WTAE reports detectives then got a hold of surveillance video from the Crawford Express store, showing:
Francis, Grigsby and Henderson-Bracey entering the Crawford Express. Francis is seen removing his hood and exposing the handcuffs on his wrists.
Neal, Francis’ brother, walks into the store, pulls Francis’ hood over his head to conceal his face as they leave the store together.
Francis gets into the back seat of the car with Neal driving.
Kenyatta, who is in a relationship with Neal, was later spotted in the passenger seat through surveillance video when the car parks near Crawford Village.
Police are still looking for Francis.
The shooting occurred Dec. 20 after police say they had served Francis with a protection from abuse order. About an hour later, they got a call that he was in a parking lot near the person who filed for the PFA, police say.
Officers took him into custody. They had found a gun in his vehicle, but did not realize he had one on him, police say.
When they got to the police station, the Athans opened the cruiser door to take Francis out, and he fired three shots, striking the officer in the neck and torso, police say. Athans returned fire, but Francis ran away, still handcuffed, according to investigators.
(c)2020 The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, Pa.)