Girlfriend of man killed in Regal movie theater shooting faces tampering charges
Kevin MooreThe girlfriend of the man killed in a shooting in a Regal West Manchester movie theater has been arrested on charges including tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension.
Kieara Aleysiah Martinez, 18, allegedly took Andre White Jr.'s cell phone from the crime scene and then lied to police about where it was, according to charging documents.
White was killed and a female victim was wounded in the Dec. 2 shooting at the movie theater in West Manchester Township.
According to police accounts, White had a brief conversation with Anu-Malik Lee Johnson, 20, and Jalen Bellaflores, 19, who are charged with homicide, before the shooting occurred inside the movie theater. Johnson, who police allege fired the shots, is still at large.
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Police try to locate victim's phone
Martinez told police that, before the shooting, White briefly spoke to the alleged shooter and then was nervous and starting sending out phone messages to unknown people, documents state.
Martinez, who police have identified as White's girlfriend, told police someone called White's phone using Snapchat immediately after the shooting occurred.
Police said that when they asked Martinez if she knew who called White's phone, she said she could not or would not identify the caller, but said she did speak to the caller before dropping the phone and leaving the theater.
When police asked where the phone was, Martinez said she dropped it and that it would still be in the theater or among White's belongings at York Hospital. When police could not locate White's phone, she then told investigators she took the phone to a house in the 1000 block of West King Street in West York, according to charging documents.
Girlfriend accused of giving false information
Police said Martinez broke off communication, but she was located four days after the shooting and interviewed.
"For the first 30 to 40 minutes of her interview she continued to provide false information about possessing or knowing the whereabouts of this item," police said.
Martinez eventually acknowledged she had the phone on her and that it had been in her possession the entire time, according to charging documents.
Martinez is charged with two counts of hindering apprehension, one count of obstructing administration of law or other governmental function, and one count of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
As of Saturday, she remained in York County Prison on $50,000 bail, according to court records.
More:York County movie theater shooting: What we know now
More:'Extremely dangerous': Alleged gunman in Regal movie theater shooting at large, police say