North Versailles, PA: N. Versailles man sought in killing of ex-girlfriend

Tuesday, September 14, 2010
By Jim McKinnon, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Jaquan Jones - Suspect in the shooting death of Parris Harris
Investigators are searching for a North Versailles man they say killed his estranged girlfriend Friday because she broke up with him for the father of her baby.

The victim, Parris Harris, 19, was fatally shot in the head when she went to the window of her North Versailles apartment to yell at her ex-boyfriend for allegedly firing his pistol at her building on Rolling Woods Drive.

Witnesses told Allegheny County homicide detectives that the suspected gunman, Jaquan Marquis Jones, 19, was seen firing what police said was a .380 semiautomatic handgun at Ms. Harris' building and at an adjacent building in the Rolling Woods housing complex.

After interviewing witnesses over the weekend, detectives obtained an arrest warrant charging Mr. Jones with homicide, attempted homicide, aggravated assault, firearms violations and eight counts of reckless endangerment.

Inside with Ms. Harris when the shooting began were her baby's father, whose name police did not release, two other adults and three children, police said.

No one else was injured in the incident.

Township police were called at 11:12 p.m., and medics pronounced Ms. Harris dead at the scene, on her living room floor.

A relative of the victim who had been outside when the shooting started said Mr. Jones began firing just after someone inside the apartment reported seeing Mr. Jones with a gun.

Ms. Harris' boyfriend looked out the window, and he had to duck a bullet that struck the building, according to the affidavit. When Ms. Harris went to the window and shouted Mr. Jones' name, a bullet shattered the glass and struck her in the head.

A moment later, the suspect was in the parking lot firing rounds at the adjacent building where a resident had yelled at him. A bullet broke the window of that witness' bedroom.

Police said seven shell casings were found outside the two apartment buildings.

Mr. Jones is described as a black man with a number of tattoos, including markings on both forearms. In a photo, the suspect appears to wear his hair in dreadlocks, but investigators said he has since had his hair cut.

Anyone with information on Mr. Jones' whereabouts is asked to contact county police at 412-473-3000.

Jim McKinnon: jmckinnon@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1939.