Jury selection for one of the four suspects in the shooting death of Jadeyn Wright was continued as a new attorney is expected to be appointed.
According to Indiana County District Attorney Robert Manzi, the legal proceedings are on hold for now for 21-year-old Terrion Gates from Johnstown. He was represented by attorney Christopher Martini of St. Mary’s, but he was recently reprimanded by the disciplinary board of the State Supreme Court. The reprimand was for his conduct in two cases:
- In one case involving a defendant identified only as BM, he sent her sexually explicit messages over snapchat while he was her defense attorney between April and June of 2021. Family members confronted him about it, but he continued to represent her until the disciplinary board stepped in.
- The other case was in Potter County in which William Brown entered a “no contest” plea to a charge of corruption of minors, and Martini filed a timely post-sentence motion, which was denied by the Potter County court. When he appealed to the state superior court, he failed to file a brief and that caused the appeal to be dismissed. Martin failed to tell Brown about the second dismissal being his fault. Brown then requested a refund, which Martini provided.
With Martini now on reprimand, the court is appointing a new attorney for Gates. The trial will not move forward until that happens and the new attorney is up to speed on the case.
