A man already in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting trial on charges of fatally shooting another man in the city's Allentown neighborhood two years ago was charged Friday in a second slaying.

Ashanti Montgomery, now 20, was arraigned on charges of criminal homicide and a firearms violation for the Jan. 13, 2013, shooting of Lou Auer, 37, who was gunned down around midnight in a courtyard off North Negley Avenue in East Liberty.

Montgomery is scheduled to stand trial in April on charges of homicide, conspiracy and carrying a firearm without a license for the Jan. 10, 2013, slaying of Deondre Pace, 16, of Allentown. The shooting, along Beltzhoover Avenue, occurred during a dispute over an exchange of weapons, investigators have said.

Montgomery told detectives that Auer, who died of gunshot wounds to the chest, neck and face, began approaching him with a knife or machete, saying, “I'm not scared of your gun,” the complaint states.

Montgomery told investigators he kept backing up, saying, “I don't want to do this, stop,” before firing the fatal shots and fleeing with two other men, the complaint states.

Michael Hasch is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7820 or at mhasch@tribweb.com.

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