Teenage boy charged in fatal shooting of Aliquippa man

Police have charged a teenage boy in a fatal Aliquippa shooting, alleging the youth killed the man with whom he had been staying as a means of garnering respect.

A U.S. Marshals fugitive task force Monday arrested Jeremiah Ausby, 17, in Brooklyn, Aliquippa police Sgt. Steven Roberts said.

Ausby is accused of firing five bullets into Ronald Lucas, 27, this month in Lucas' McMinn Street home. Ausby had been living in the home, Roberts said.

Police say the shooting was spurred in part by Ausby's desire to show people he was “for real.”

“He called it being ‘little,' ” Roberts said. “He was young, and he didn't think people were taking him seriously.”

A woman told police Ausby threatened to shoot Lucas during an argument a day or two before Lucas was killed, according to a criminal complaint.

Another woman told police Ausby called her about 4 a.m. March 5 and said he needed to go to her place because he had “just done something bad,” according to the complaint. He later told her he had shot someone, the complaint said.

The second female said she watched him count a stack of money totaling at least $1,000, which police believe Ausby stole from Lucas, Roberts said.

Lucas' body was found March 6 when his girlfriend knocked on his front door, but no one answered.

When she peered inside, she saw two feet sprawled on the floor. That's when she called 911, Roberts said.

Lucas was shot four times in the lower abdomen and once in the back, Roberts said.

Ausby is charged with homicide, possession of a firearm by a minor and carrying a firearm without a license.

It's unclear when he will be extradited from New York. Court records do not list an attorney for him.

He has been charged as an adult, Roberts said.

Tony Raap is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7827 or traap@tribweb.com.