Two people are charged after gunshots were fired into a house following an arranged custody swap in which a bystander was shot in the hip, according to the Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department.
Thalia Ortiz and Rashaun Taylor, both from Reading, were arrested shortly after the incident. It happened around 8:22 p.m. on May 30, 2000 at Lawnwood Court in East Petersburg Borough.
Authorities charged Ortiz with two crimes and two offenses: assault, firing a gun into an occupied building, reckless endangering another person, and endangering the child’s welfare. Taylor was charged with criminal offenses related to his involvement and aiding Ortiz in the crimes committed.
The woman, who suffered from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, was taken to Lancaster General Hospital for treatment, police said.
Witnesses told officials that an argument broke out during an arranged custody exchange between Ortiz and the girlfriend of the child’s father, which became physical. Ortiz and Taylor then fled the area in a green Subaru Legacy. Manheim Township Police helped locate the vehicle, which led to the arrest of Ortiz and Taylor.
Rashaun Taylor, 28, was charged with his involvement in a shooting incident in the East Petersburg district on May 30th. Photo: Northern Lancaster County’s Regional Police Department
As the two left the scene, Ortiz fired “numerous shots” from a 9mm pistol from the vehicle. One of the shots went through a window and hit the woman visiting the residence, police said.
No other injuries were reported.
During the interrogation with officials, the vehicle and the weapon were recovered and secured as evidence. Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department is investigating.
The East Hempfield Police Department and the Serious Crimes Division of the Lancaster Prosecutor’s Office also helped.
Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the police in the Northern County Regional Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Department at 717-733-0965 or through the NLCRPD Crimewatch website.
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