Suspect in Montco Walmart shooting will face county court

A Philadelphia man accused of causing "pandemonium" when he fired a gun wildly inside a crowded Walmart last month will have his case heard in front of a Montgomery County court in the fall.

Keenan Jones, 30, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Friday in front of Judge Christopher J. Cerski at district court in Jenkintown.

He faces multiple counts of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment in the shooting, which took place Aug. 14 at the store, on Easton Road just over the city's boundary line with Montgomery County.

During Jones' brief appearance in front of Cerski on Friday, Assistant District Attorney Tonya Lupinacci noted that he now faces an additional count of aggravated assault in the shooting and has been newly charged with carrying a firearm without a license.

A third charge of carrying a gun as a convicted felon was upgraded to a felony.

Jones was silent during the proceeding, turning only to face his fiancée, Bianca Rodriguez, who had brought their infant son to the courtroom.

Abigail Leeds, Jones' attorney, said this was the first time her client had seen his son, who was born the day before the shooting.

Jones remained in custody at the county prison on $1 million bail. He's scheduled to appear at county court in Norristown on Nov. 7.

Surveillance video from inside the store showed Jones standing in a checkout line, according to an affidavit filed in his arrest. He pulled out a black semiautomatic handgun and fired a single round at a man standing nearby, hitting him.

Investigators have said Jones grabbed the 9mm handgun from his sister's waistband during an unspecified argument with the male victim. Jones' sister is registered to carry the firearm, and has not been charged in the shooting.

"Jones then begins to run through the front of the store and is seen firing additional rounds indiscriminately as the victims, employees, and customers run for safety," the affidavit states, describing the scene as "pandemonium."

An updated affidavit filed Friday says that additional surveillance footage shows Jones "specifically targeted a second victim" for unspecified reasons as he tried to flee the store.

Jones shot the victim, a woman, striking her four times, according to the affidavit. One of the shots severed an artery.

Ultimately, five people were struck by gunfire.

Jones and his sister then fled the store in a Pontiac Grand Prix, stopping to discard the gun nearby. They were later arrested after crashing the sedan into a parked Philadelphia police car, there on an unrelated matter.

Leeds declined to comment Friday on a motive. She said Jones elected to waive the hearing to "spare the victims and their families from seeing surveillance pictures and videos that would make them relive those moments."

She also declined to comment on Jones' physical and mental health — at his arraignment in August, Jones said he was "hurting" and requested medical care.

Jones has a history of convictions in Philadelphia on drug and gun charges. In a 2010 incident, he was convicted of witness intimidation after threatening to shoot a man that his brother was accused of robbing.