Pocono News Section

Man Ordered to Stand Trial for Glass Bar Shooting

Man Ordered to Stand Trial for Glass Bar Shooting - Friday, May 9, 2008 at 4:40PM EST

Reported by: Andy Mehalshick
Friday, May 9, 2008 @ 04:40pm EST
KINGSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY- Police call it an execution-style murder and Friday the alleged triggerman had his day in court.

The killing took place inside a crowded bar in Edwardsville. Jabaar Wallace says it was self defense, but a judge didn't buy it.

Wallace was told he will stand trial for the murder of 23-year-old Eric Cusaac of Brooklyn, New York. The gunfire erupted inside a bathroom at The Glass Bar on Main Street in Edwardsville in December, 2007.

Prosectuors say Wallace went there with the intention of taking Cusaac's life. Luzerne County Asst. D. A.Mike Vogue said, “He was shot twice at close range in the bathroom, 8 or 9 feet inside the bathroom at close range. One in the head and one in the abdomen. The coroner says both would have been fatal."

Police say the murder plot actually started several weeks earlier. “The only tie we can find between Mr. Cusaac, the victim, and the defendant was a traffic accident in late November 2007. One of Mr. Cusaac's friends was involved with Mr. Wallace in a traffic accident. Then earlier that evening at the Cabaret they talked about that accident. It was the motive at The Glass Bar for the shooting," said Vogue.

Wallace is locked up without bail. He will stand trial later this year.