A 19-year-old man was arrested Tuesday after a woman was shot in an Amity motel during a heroin purchase.
Ronald Coleman, 19, of Philadelphia, has been charged following a dispute that took place during an attempt to buy heroin at the Rainbow Motel, police said.
At around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, police responded to the motel for a reported gunshot. While on their way to the scene, officers noticed a speeding vehicle that was travelling erratically on Route 422 westbound and an officer stopped the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Drew Kulp and he informed the officer that his girlfriend, Sara Craig, the passenger, had been shot by a black male, according to a press release. Police then escorted the couple to Reading Hospital and notified other officers that a black male may have been involved in the shooting.
Upon arrival at the Rainbow Motel, police observed a black male, later identified as Robert Coleman. He was apprehended by Amity Police after attempting to flee and Berks County Detectives then responded to the scene, police said.
Detectives found out that Kulp and Craig had gone to room 7 of the Rainbow Motel at around 3 a.m. to see Coleman who had been staying there. Kulp and Craig had gone to see Coleman in order to purchase heroin from him. Coleman and Kulp then engaged in a physical struggle and the handgun that Coleman possessed discharged, hitting Craig in the lower back. Kulp then took Craig to Reading Hospital, according to a press release from the Berks County District Attorney’s Office.
County detectives obtained a search warrant for the room and seized a .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun and 552 packets of suspected heroin. In addition, they found a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun outside the room, according to police.
Craig underwent surgery at Reading Hospital and is in fair condition.
Coleman is being charged with aggravated assault, possession of an instrument of crime with intent, manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to deliver, recklessly endangering another person, intent to possess a controlled substance, use or possession of drug paraphernalia and simple assault. He was arraigned on Feb. 4 before District Judge Richard A. Gatti and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 11 before District Judge Victor M. Frederick IV. He was unable to post the set $50,000 cash bail and is being held at Berks County Prison.
