NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Police in Lawrence County have charged a 24-year-old in connection with the fatal shooting of a man who was trying to break up a brawl on a New Castle Street.
Zarmara Stelter was shot in the head after trying to break up a fight in which a family member was involved at the Crestview Gardens apartments, police said.
New Castle police said the fight involving two women -- one of whom is Zarmara Stelter's cousin -- broke out on Pin Oak Drive about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Police said a crowd gathered, and the 35-year-old Stelter was trying to break up the brawl when someone at the scene shot him in the head.
Police announced on Thursday that homicide charges have been filed against Dajuan Dawson in connection with the shooting. Police said Dawson is still at large.
"(It's) a little unclear what the actual fight was about, but they said when they were rolling around on the ground, they heard a shot, and everyone in the area heard the same thing and assumed someone shot a gun in the air to stop the fight," said New Castle Police Chief Tom Sansone.
Stelter was flown by medical helicopter to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown in serious condition and later died.
Stelter's cousin told Channel 4 Action News reporter Janelle Hall that he was the type of person who would do anything to stick up for his family.
"He always tries to look out for us girl cousins, which is good because a lot of people don't do that," said Natasha Talley.
Fellow cousin Antonio Talley told Hall, "That's what he was doing last night -- he was coming together for his family, and he got dropped."
Police said they're frustrated that not everyone who may have witnessed the shooting has come forward to share information about who fired the shot.
"Nobody deserved to be killed, let alone for that reason, and you have to decide at that point, 'Am I going to do the right thing?' versus, 'Am I just going to shut up?' Because what if it's you or your family? Then it's a different story," said Sansone.
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