Johnstown man to stand trial in New Year's murder of Ferndale woman

Patrick Buchnowski, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

Dec. 7—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — A Johnstown man was ordered on Wednesday to stand trial in the shooting death of a woman whose body was found on New Year's Day in a vehicle in the city's Hornerstown section, authorities said.

Qwante Nyjil Rose, 21, of the 800 block of Devlin Street, was held for court following a preliminary hearing before District Judge Kevin Price, of Johnstown.

Rose is charged with homicide and other counts in the shooting death of Jaydin Sanderson, 19, of Ferndale. He pleaded not guilty through his attorney, Ralph Karsh, of Pittsburgh.

According to a complaint affidavit and the testimony of Johnstown police Det. Sgt. Cory Adams, Sanderson and Rose attended a New Year's Eve party at a residence in the Belmont neighborhood in Stonycreek Township that was shared by Ethan Williams and his girlfriend.

Williams, 22, died in an Aug. 24 shootout with Elliott D. Ruff Jr., 30, of Delaware County, in Johnstown's Cambria City section. Williams and Ruff shot at each other from separate vehicles. Ruff died later at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center.

Adams said that Sanderson, Rose and another man left the party around midnight, and the other man was dropped off in Johnstown's Prospect section. Sanderson was driving a 2011 Chevrolet sedan with Rose in the back seat.

On Wood Street in Hornerstown, Rose pulled a semi-automatic handgun and shot her in the back of the head, Adams testified. Cambria County Coroner Jeffrey Lees testified that Sanderson died as a result of the gunshot.

A confidential informant testified that, a few days after the shooting, he asked Rose to give him a ride to Sheetz in Moxham. The informant said he asked Rose what he knew about Sanderson.

"He laughed and said, 'It was me,'" the informant testified on Wednesday.

The state police crime lab in Greensburg linked Rose's 9mm firearm to the homicide, Adams said.

Police allegedly recovered the gun from a Ford Fiesta that Rose was driving during a shots-fired incident in March near Oakhurst Homes in Johnstown's West End. The Fiesta was owned by a Rose family member, Adams said.

Rose is charged with homicide, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person. He is being held in Cambria County Prison without bond.

Assistant District Attorneys Joel Polites and Joseph Green are prosecuting the case.