CHICORA — As of Tuesday, both men charged in the aftermath of the Jan. 18 shooting at the Clearview Mall in Center Township will remain behind bars as their cases head toward trials in county court.

Both men appeared before District Judge Lewis Stoughton in preliminary hearings conducted separately, but back-to-back. Stoughton moved forward all charges in both cases to Butler County Common Pleas Court.

The alleged shooter, Carlos Gonzalez Carril, 24, of Butler, pleaded not guilty to three charges each of attempted homicide, felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor simple assault, one for each alleged victim. Assistant District Attorney David Beichner also added three counts of felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

During the hearing a state police trooper said 26 shell casings were found at the scene.

Following the hearing, Gonzalez Carril’s attorney, Adam Bishop, said that moving forward, he feels good about arguing his client acted in self-defense.

“Carlos, I feel horrible, he’s in this position,” Bishop said. “I don’t think he should have been charged.”

After Gonzalez Carril’s hearing, the alleged instigator, Damian J. Blystone, 19, of Butler, pleaded not guilty to charges of felony terroristic threats and carrying a gun without a permit, as well as misdemeanor simple assault, reckless endangerment, marijuana possession and drug paraphernalia possession.

Before the hearing, Beichner revised the felony gun charge from a higher-graded felony count of a person not permitted to carry, which would have assumed Blystone had been convicted of a previous offense prohibiting him from owning a gun. The new charge is a third-degree felony as opposed to a felony of the first degree.

Blystone’s attorney, Jacob Wyland, said the case against his client has holes in it, particularly relating to his alleged carrying of a gun.

“All of these, at this point, are allegations,” Wyland said. “The source of all of these are from those people who are aligned with someone charged with attempted homicide for shooting and injuring my client.”

Despite arguments by both attorneys, both men will continue to be held in Butler County Prison without bond, per Stoughton’s renewed judgment.

Testifying against Gonzalez Carril was one of his alleged victims, Ryan P. Ehrman, who said he was sitting in the vehicle’s rear, passenger-side seat behind Blystone when the shots were fired. An interpreter relayed information to Gonzalez Carril throughout the hearing.

Ehrman said he was grazed by one of the rounds he assumed were fired by Gonzalez Carril. He said Blystone was hit in the back of the head twice and in the lower abdomen once, and another person, who has been identified as a juvenile boy, was hit once in the back of the head. All three were treated and released from a hospital.

“They just started coming in,” Ehrman said of the gunshots. “When we were trying to leave, (the car) just started spinning out.”

During cross-examination, Ehrman admitted that before the shots were fired, he, Blystone and the boy had an argument inside the Rural King store. He said after leaving the store, the juvenile pulled their SUV alongside Gonzalez Carril’s vehicle, and he and Blystone exited the vehicle.

“When we got out, (Gonzalez Carril) had his gun out like this,” said Ehrman, gesturing as if resting a pistol’s barrel on the inside panel beneath the window. “I pulled mine out.”

Ehrman said he and his friends got in their SUV, and he said as they were leaving, Blystone threw a coin at Gonzalez Carril’s car.

“Damian just wanted to fight,” Ehrman said. “He threw a coin at the car, but I don’t think it hit the car.”

Trooper Phillip Schneider said Gonzalez Carril left the scene and parked at Sheetz until he could speak with troopers.

“Carlos appeared in a panic, and he was very upset,” Schneider said. “He said the driver’s window was shot.”

Schneider said the 26 shell casings were found between Gonzalez Carril’s vehicle and the scene. He said Gonzalez Carril turned over a 9 mm pistol.

“We located an extended magazine under the driver’s seat of the vehicle Carlos was driving,” Schneider said. “It was his weapon. He had also recently purchased a concealed carry permit.”

Testifying against Blystone was Tiana Gillespie, who was seated behind Gonzalez Carril in his vehicle. Gillespie called 911 as she and her group were exiting the Rural King.

Gillespie said she was telling dispatchers about the altercation inside. She said while inside Rural King, Blystone approached Gonzalez Carril aggressively and swung a fist at him, which her friend dodged.

“He attempted to fight Carlos,” she said. “Carlos didn’t want any part of that because Damian was younger than him.”

During her testimony Gillespie said she also believed Blystone and his friends had followed them from Dunham’s Sporting Goods, a business on the other end and side of the mall, before the incident at Rural King.

Gillespie said as she was on the phone with police, Gonzalez Carril was waiting for the car to warm up when the vehicle Blystone was in approached almost head-on with its lights shining in the driver’s side window. She said Blystone and Ehrman exited their vehicle and approached.

“They were standing at the (driver’s side) window for maybe 10 seconds, and then they pulled out guns and pointed them at Carlos,” Gillespie said. “It felt like a long time, but it was one minute, maybe two.”

Gillespie said it appeared that both Ehrman and Blystone each reached for their own weapons. During cross-examination she admitted it was possible Ehrman handed Blystone the gun, but she noted that she did not see a handoff, only Blystone pulling a gun from somewhere within his clothing.

“(Gonzalez Carril) pulled his gun out after they had already been pointing guns at him,” she said.

Schneider, lead investigator in both cases, said there was a video with audio from another passenger that showed Blystone and Ehrman.

“You can hear a female say, ‘They’re pointing a gun at us,’” he said.

Schneider also said there was only one gun recovered between Blystone and Ehrman. He said it was held by Ehrman, the owner, and Ehrman had a concealed carry permit.

“It was loaded when we recovered it, but there was not a round in the chamber,” Schneider said.

Both Blystone’s attorney and Gonzalez Carril’s attorney argued for some or all of the charges to be dropped against their clients, and both failed to see any of the charges against their clients removed.

In regard to Gonzalez Carril, Bishop, his attorney, offered his version of events based on Tuesday’s testimony, one where he believes his client acted in self-defense. He said if anything, his client’s actions were reckless at best.

“They followed him out, tracked him down and they confronted and threatened him,” Bishop said. “He wasn’t doing it with the intent to maim anyone, hurt anyone or kill anyone.”

Bishop also drew issue with the severity and cause of the injuries to the three alleged shooting victims. During cross-examination, Schneider said none of the injuries had a report. It was noted that all three were released from Allegheny General Hospital after brief stays.

“If you were shot in the head, you’re not in and out of AGH,” Bishop said. “No one knows what the nature of those injuries is.”

Beichner pointed to the number of bullets to prove intent and serious bodily injury.

“The defendant fired 26 shots into a vehicle with three individuals and hit those individuals,” he said.

In regard to Blystone, his attorney, Wyland said prosecutors were trying to tie the threat of harm to mall customers to his client.

“The mall wasn’t endangered because Mr. Blystone challenged Mr. Gonzalez Carril to a fight,” Wyland said. “It was the criminal conduct of Carlos, not the alleged criminal conduct of Mr. Blystone.”

Beichner doubled down, saying Blystone wielded a loaded gun and pointed it at Gonzalez Carril’s vehicle.

“There were four individuals in that car,” Beichner said. “(Gillespie) saw that happen. The weapon was produced from the defendant’s clothing.”

Neither attorney made headway in regard to bond; however both will be able to renew their arguments before a county judge following formal arraignment for both on April 5.

Bishop argued that Gonzalez Carril has no prior criminal record and has been a law-abiding citizen. He said his client has a valid case for self-defense.

Stoughton said his issue was with the number of rounds fired and the danger that posed to those around the scene.

“I’m horrified your client fired 26 shots in a parking lot with active businesses,” Stoughton said. “A 9 mm round, one shot could have killed anybody.”

Following the hearing, Bishop said he disagreed with the decision on the bond, which meant his client was further isolated away from his loving and supportive family, despite having a clean track record until this case.

“I think it’s an injustice that he’s being held in Butler County Prison without bail,” Bishop said.

Wyland tried to argue that his client’s charges were not serious enough to merit revocation of bond. Stoughton said his decision to revoke the bond came after Blystone was arrested and charged in two separate cases, related to stolen guns, filed less than 48 hours after his release in this case.

“I’m not going to change my mind,” Stoughton said. “Bail is still denied.”