A Wilkes-Barre juvenile accused of shooting a Scranton man on Tuesday in the Hill Section will face attempted homicide charges as an adult, the Lackawanna County district attorney said.
Marquese Cortell Richardson Jr., 17, of South Main Street, shot Ezekiel Soto, 21, at “point blank range” in the hip and ankle during an altercation in the Hill Section in the early morning hours. Soto may lose his leg, according to a criminal complaint.
Richardson was charged as an adult under Pennsylvania’s direct file statute, which allows for a juvenile who is at least 15 years of age and is charged with attempted criminal homicide to be excluded from the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, said District Attorney Brian Gallagher.
“Accordingly, this case has been filed in the Court of Common Pleas and will proceed through the adult criminal justice system in the same manner as any adult” charged with these serious violent crimes, Gallagher said.
Gallagher said his office will continue to aggressively prosecute violent offenders.
“A 17-year-old allegedly carrying a firearm and roaming the streets at 3:00 a.m. is unacceptable,” he said in a statement. “Where were the parents or guardians? Where was the supervision? Parents and guardians need to wake up and start being parents. They need to know where their children are, who they’re with, and what they’re doing. Until we demand greater responsibility and accountability at home, we will continue to see young lives ruined by gun violence.”
Lackawanna County District Attorney Brian Gallagher speaks during a press conference in the foyer of the Lackawanna County Courthouse in Scranton Monday, April 6, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Altercation results in shooting
The incident occurred at 3:05 a.m. near the 1800 block of Roselynn Street, where police responded to a report of shots fired. They found Soto on the south sidewalk nearby suffering from gunshot wounds to his left leg and rendered aid until emergency medical services arrived.
A Pennsylvania Ambulance crew took Soto to the nearby Geisinger Community Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery for serious injuries.
A criminal complaint said Soto was knocked to the ground and Richardson shot him with a 9 mm Glock handgun twice in the left leg at point-blank range. One gunshot wound was near his left ankle and the other was in the rear of his left hip. Hospital staff told police the victim might need to have his leg amputated because of the severity of the injuries.
Police recovered evidence, viewed surveillance video from the area and interviewed witnesses, and the investigation resulted in Richardson being identified as the suspected shooter and arrested.
Police found three 9 mm casings, multiple live rounds and the bottom plate and spring of a handgun magazine, as it appeared the handgun malfunctioned and live rounds emptied out, according to the criminal complaint. They also found a pair of gray and blue Asic sneakers.
Suspect checked himself into nearby Geisinger hospital
While police were at the hospital, Richardson checked himself into the hospital and had injuries and abrasions to his arms and legs. He told police he heard gunshots and ran. He said he lost his sneakers while running away and fell down an embankment.
Video surveillance from a nearby home captured images of Richardson and an unidentified man confronting the victim during the altercation, the complaint said. The man threw the victim to the ground and then Richardson “steps right up and shoots the victim at point-blank range,” the complaint said.
The shooter stumbled as he ran away with the other man, while friends of the victim assisted him before police arrived.
In an interview at the police station, Richardson “readily admitted to shooting the victim” because he felt unsafe. He said he used a Glock with an extended magazine and it malfunctioned, and he lost his sneakers while running away, according to the complaint.
In addition to attempted homicide, a felony, Richardson also was charged with felonies of aggravated assault to cause serious bodily injury with extreme indifference, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and firearms not to be carried without a license; as well as a misdemeanor of recklessly endangering another person.
Richardson was arraigned late Tuesday morning and taken to Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $250,000 bail, according to public court documents. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 18.