Harrisburg man kills bystander before shooting drug-dealing rival: prosecutors

Prosecutors are trying to lock a Harrisburg man behind bars for two lifetimes, saying he wore black clothing and gray gloves before killing a Harrisburg man and an innocent bystander outside a city restaurant in 2022.

But Jeremy Bailey’s lawyer spent Tuesday morning investigating whether his client was the man in black who fired the gunshots, saying the case hinged on the identity of the gunman and mysterious DNA samples linked to the case.

Bailey, 34, is on trial this week in Dauphin County on two charges of first-degree murder. the shooting of 30-year-old Leonard Quattlebaum; and Nelbenson “Melvin” Sanchez, 39, on Aug. 2, 2022, near 13th and Derry streets.

Bailey found his main target, Quattlebaum, at a US Fried Chicken restaurant in the early hours of the morning. Playing a game of skill alongside Brooke Bechtold He also shot at her, according to Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office prosecutor Alex McNulty, who gave opening statements Tuesday morning.

But he missed, and Quattlebaum lunged at him and pulled Bailey’s cell phone from his pocket, McNulty said. As Bechtold exited USA Fried Chicken and took Bailey’s cell phone, Quattlebaum dodged to the right, striking Sanchez and fleeing.

That’s when Bailey fired a second shot, McNulty said. And although he aimed at Quattlebaum, his bullet shot Sanchez in the forehead, killing him. After a fight, Bailey shot Quattlebaum, McNulty said.

The killer covered his face and wore all black except for gray gloves, McNulty said, and police obtained video evidence that Bailey was wearing the same outfit.

But Bailey’s attorney, Corey Leshner, questioned whether Bailey was the one who killed both men.

He said Bailey and Quattlebaum, who used the street name “China,” had a “street fight” over who could sell marijuana from their apartment on North Street. Later, according to Leshner, a person with the street name “Supreme” stepped in and planted the beef; but Leshner said Quattlebaum rebooted and “Supreme” did not approve.

Leshner also tried to poke holes in a witness’s description of Bailey as the gunman. Bechtold, for example, told police the attacker was light-skinned, according to Leshner. Bailey is black. When Harrisburg city police Detective Brian Carriere sat Bechtold down to choose a suspect from a series of photos, Bechtold chose someone else’s photo, Leshner said.

Leshner said he changed his pick to another non-Bailey after Carriere questioned his accuracy.

Eventually, Bechtold chose Bailey’s photo after police continued to question his choice, and Leshner stated that he was “67% sure.”

There were DNA samples matching Bailey’s profile inside the police jacket Bailey was said to have worn during the attack. But Leshner said two DNA profiles were collected from inside the jacket that were never identified.

Forensic tests also detected two DNA profiles from under Quattlebaum’s fingernails: Quattlebaum’s and a second unknown DNA profile that was “definitely not Jeremy Bailey’s profile,” Leshner said. Detectives routinely scrape under murder victims’ fingernails to look for possible traces of the attackers’ DNA.

Leshner said no one investigated Supreme as a suspect in Quattlebaum’s murder.

“Please do not judge this book until you read the last page,” Leshner told the jury.