Cambria County judge gives murder suspect 14 days for counsel to file appearance with commonwealth

Shawn Curtis, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

May 17—EBENSBURG — A Johnstown man charged with first-degree murder in connection to a 2017 shooting death in the city's West End has been given 14 days for his counsel to file an entry of appearance with the commonwealth.

Cambria County Judge Patrick T. Kiniry issued the order on Monday while Mizzon Unique Grandinetti appeared via videoconferencing software from SCI-Benner Township, where he is housed while serving a four- to eight-year state prison sentence imposed in August 2019 on drug and reckless endangerment charges in a separate case.

During the status conference, Kiniry noted that Randall McKinney, of Pittsburgh, had represented Grandinetti during his preliminary hearing on Feb. 10. According to Kiniry, McKinney did not sign his portion of a form denoting the counsel's entry of appearance at the office of District Judge Michael Musulin following that hearing.

Under terms of the order, if McKinney does not file an entry of appearance by May 31, Kiniry said that he will direct Grandinetti to apply for representation from a public defender.

There's a lot of things that have to be done," Kiniry said. "And since you don't have an attorney representing you yet, I can't schedule those dates."

McKinney did not appear during Grandinetti's formal arraignment in front of Kiniry at Cambria County Courthouse on March 23.

Grandinetti told the court that the delay in McKinney entering his appearance with the commonwealth is linked to the attorney waiting on payment. Grandinetti, who said that he spoke with McKinney on Sunday, estimated that the payment should be completed later this week.

In November, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General charged Grandinetti with first-degree murder in connection with the May 1, 2017, shooting death of 21-year-old Barron Grumbling at the corner of Corinne Street and Merle Place in the city's West End.

Grandinetti, who was 16 at the time of Grumbling's murder, would be tried as an adult when the trial begins.

Before charges were filed, Detective Mark Britton, of the Johnstown Police Department, told an investigative grand jury that Grumbling had been shot twice — once in the head and once in the back — and that a third bullet was found lodged in a nearby porch.