ALIQUIPPA - One person was killed and 14 others wounded in 14 shootings that occurred in Aliquippa last year, but only one case is pending against an alleged gunman today.

There have been deadlier years in Aliquippa, which is home to 11,000 people, but Assistant Police Chief Andre Davis said he could not remember a year when so many people were shot and then survived their injuries.

"When I look at this list (of shooting victims), it makes me think that, number one, there were 14 individuals who were truly blessed. The people who were shot and survived very well could have become 14 obituaries," Davis said.

"(The shooting victims) should start out the new year by saying a prayer and thanking God that they're still alive because things very easily could have gone the other way for them," Davis added.

To combat the escalating violence in 2006, Davis said city police will, among other things, start "sending a message" by filing charges in the most serious gun- and drug-related crimes in federal court instead of county court because federal sentences are often stiffer.

For instance, in federal court, a first-time offender convicted of possessing a firearm in a drug-trafficking offense or violent crime faces a "mandatory minimum" sentence of five years in prison, said U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, based in Pittsburgh. The mandatory sentence for second-time offenders is 25 years, she said, and other crimes, such as illegal firearms possession, carry mandatory prison sentences, as well.

Buchanan said her office is working with the Aliquippa Police Department on several potential federal cases, though she would not elaborate on them.

In the past year, however, city police have struggled just to file charges in shooting cases, often because victims and potential witnesses were reluctant to cooperate with police or testify against alleged gunmen.

"There's a street mentality that a lot of people have that says, 'What goes on in the streets stays in the streets.' That's a mentality we somehow have to break. Just because you live in the 'hood doesn't mean you have to live the 'hood life,'" Davis said.

Dayvon Cox, 20, of 106 Walnut St., Aliquippa, and Michael Ross Jr., 20, of 182 University Drive, Center Township, were accused of firing upon a passing vehicle and wounding the driver, Darius Tyson, 21, of 261 Linmar Terrace, in the city's Plan 11 Extension neighborhood in March. In April, however, the charges were dropped after Tyson and a passenger in the car, Freddy Hill, 18, of 301 Portley St., Aliquippa, refused to testify.

Dennel V. Dawkins, 18, of 318 Cooper St., Aliquippa, was accused of shooting Tremayne Foster, 19, and Denise Crumb, 17, both of Highland Avenue in Aliquippa's Plan 6 section, just blocks from where a memorial service was being held for slain teen Deon Johnson in April, but charges were dropped after the victims refused to testify.

Both of those shooting incidents - along with three others, including the fatal shooting of Johnson - have been linked to an ongoing turf war between gangs from the Linmar Terrace and Griffith Heights public housing complexes. Those involved in the turf war, which can be traced back to the fatal shooting of Joseph "J.D." Anderson in 2000, are more likely to retaliate against people with ties to the other housing complex than cooperate with police, Davis said.

"This street mentality goes above the needs of the community. What (those involved in the violence) don't seem to understand is that they're not the only ones on the streets," Davis said, adding that the shooting of Sean Korff in late August was the perfect tragic example of that.

Korff, a popular Aliquippa High School senior who was a captain in the marching band, was an innocent bystander caught between at least three shooters firing on a sport utility vehicle in the city's Plan 11 Extension section.

Korff, who was shot in the abdomen, was hospitalized for a couple of months and, though he is home now, is still working to regain his strength, said his mother, Tanawanda Korff.

The shooting has changed her son, she said. "He still has his great sense of humor and loves being around his friends, but he still has some issues being in the community," she said, noting that he was uncomfortable visiting a relative in Linmar recently and that he now prefers to keep the blinds closed at night, among other things.

In June, Derrick Cotman, 28, of 303 Fourth Ave., Aliquippa, was charged with criminal homicide in Johnson's death, though police don't think Cotman fired the fatal shot. Rather, because Johnson was riding in Cotman's car when he was shot and Cotman allegedly drove into Griffith Heights looking for a gunbattle, Beaver County District Attorney Dale Fouse said Cotman showed "depraved indifference to the value of human life" and homicide charges against him were warranted.

The only active case against an alleged gunman involves Anthony Gaskins Jr., 18, of 847 Franklin Ave., Aliquippa, who is accused of shooting James Anthony Moon Jr., 20, of 207 Helen St., Aliquippa, during a craps game in Griffith Heights in late November.

Of the shooting victims, all but one of them was African-American, all but one was from Aliquippa, and all but one was male. None of them was older than 27.

Some of the city's young people view drug dealing and other criminal activities as their only viable employment opportunity, and they are willing to overlook the immense occupational hazards to make fast bucks, Davis said.

"Most people won't admit it, but because many of these kids are black and may have a criminal record, they go into (applying for a legitimate job) with an 0-and-two count against them. I think that frustrates some of them to the point that they go out and get involved in criminal activities, and others aren't willing to get themselves together to work a real job," Davis said.

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