City men charged in shooting | News, Sports, Jobs

Two city men are behind bars on attempted murder and related charges following a shooting Saturday night.

Altoona police were called to the 1300 block of North Fourth Avenue around 10:58 p.m. Saturday for a man with a gunshot wound.

Police said the man was shot in the mouth, had a graze wound to his back and was shot in his backpack. According to the report, a 9mm bullet entered the victim's mouth and exited the opposite cheek.

The suspected shooter, Benjamin Lee Merritts, 27, was at the scene with James Alvin Cain Jr., 38, and both fled the scene before police arrived, the report said.

Cain

Police found the two men a few blocks from the crime scene, each walking in a different direction, and took them into custody, police reported on the department's Facebook page.

A Glock 19 believed to have been used in the shooting was found not far from where Merritt was arrested. Police said it had previously been reported stolen.

On Sunday, Merritts was arraigned before Magistrate District Judge Paula M. Aigner. He is charged with attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault, trespassing, receiving stolen property, prohibited possession of a weapon and carrying a firearm without a permit, as well as three misdemeanors of simple assault, willful possession of a murder weapon, possession of a weapon and possession of a controlled substance.

Unable to post $750,000 bail, he was taken to the Blair County Jail.

Cain was also arraigned before Aigner on Sunday. He was charged with attempted manslaughter, two counts of aggravated assault and trespassing, as well as three counts of simple assault and related charges.

Unable to post $500,000 bail, he was taken to the Blair County Jail.

Both Merritts and Cain are scheduled to appear in a preliminary hearing before Magistrate Judge Daniel C. DeAntonio on August 28.

No further information about the incident was available on Sunday. There were no reports about the victim's condition.