Carlos Gonzalez Carril, 24, left, and Damian J. Blystone, 19, right, are facing charges after a shooting incident at the Clearview Mall parking lot on January 18.

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.

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

Carlos Gonzalez Carril, 24, is escorted into a State Police cruiser following his preliminary hearing in Chicora Tuesday. Carril is the accused gunman in a shooting near the Rural King at Clearview Mall Jan. 18. Seb Foltz/Butler Eagle

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

“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, 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.

Damian J. Blystone, 19, looks back to speak with gathered family and friends while being escorted to a police cruiser by a Pennsylvania State Police Trooper following a preliminary trial in district court in Chicora Tuesday. Blystone is facing charges for his involvement in the shooting at Clearview Mall Jan. 18. Seb Foltz/Butler Eagle

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.

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