North Union Township, Pennsylvania



From Pittsburgh’s PittsburghLive.com of January 4, 2005

Teen won't be charged in fatal shooting



Authorities have termed it self-defense, but the justification has not set Robert Miner at ease.



"It's unreal how anybody could just take up a gun and just shoot somebody," he said Monday, reflecting on his son's death and reacting to Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon's decision not to charge the 17-year-old who authorities say pulled the trigger. "They're supposed to be friends."



His son, 21-year-old Joshua J. Miner, had been living with the 17-year-old's family in North Union Township. An argument in the early hours of Dec. 18 led to several 911 calls as it became physical, police said.



Miner began to beat on 39-year-old Jerome Zuzak before Zuzak's 17-year-old son fired a single shot from a pistol. The bullet ripped through Miner's right arm before entering his body and piercing his heart, Vernon said.



Vernon would not identify the 17-year-old's name.



"It's been a traumatic experience for everybody," Vernon said. "You can hear on the last 911 tape the young boy's crying."



Vernon said the shooting was justified because Miner had been told to leave the North Union Township home before he came back and beat Zuzak.



"When he busted through the door, he was an intruder," she said. "When he started using deadly force, or what the son perceived as deadly force, on his father, he was justified in returning it."



Police said an argument between Miner and Zuzak erupted at about 3:30 a.m. Zuzak called 911, but Miner left before police arrived. Soon afterward, he returned.



The dispute apparently began over whether Miner would purchase $10 worth of alcohol, Vernon said. During the argument, Miner made death threats, she added.



Concerned about the threats, Zuzak had placed a handgun in the waistband of his pants, Vernon said. During the beating, the son pulled the handgun from his father's pants and fired it from a distance Vernon said measured between 3 and 8 feet.



Zuzak is frail and suffers from cancer, Vernon said.



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