Dispute over a dropped phone lead to shooting in Columbia Friday: police

An altercation over a dropped cellphone led to a shooting in Columbia Borough on Friday afternoon, according to borough police.

J'vian Mendez-Gonzalez, 18, of Lancaster; and Isaiah Diaz, 20, and Caelan Brown, 19, both of Columbia, each face multiple felony charges after police say they shot into an occupied home on the 400 block of Avenue K on Friday.

According to a criminal complaint filed Saturday, Mendez-Gonzalez, Diaz and Brown were seen shooting into the home wearing dark clothing and masks around 1:30 p.m. Friday. Four people were inside the residence at the time of the shooting.

Witnesses to the shooting saw the three men run into a nearby home on the 200 block of Fourth Street. After surrounding the home and communicating with the people inside, Mendez-Gonzalez, Diaz and Brown surrendered to police.

According to police, Brown was interviewed at the station after waiving his miranda rights. Brown told police he, Mendez-Gonzalez and Diaz got into a fight with two men at a smoke shop in Columbia. During the fight, Brown dropped his cellphone, which was taken by one of the men. Later, Brown said he tracked the phone to the residence on Avenue K.

Diaz told police he had supplied Mendez-Gonzalez and Brown with handguns, according to the criminal complaint. Diaz said Mendez-Gonzalez fired three shots toward the residence before all three went back to his apartment on Fourth Street and hid the guns inside the kitchen ceiling. Police found the guns while serving a search warrant Friday night.

Mendez-Gonzalez, Diaz and Brown are in Lancaster County Prison, unable to post bail. Mendez-Gonzalez has bail set at $500,000, while bail for Diaz and Brown was set at $250,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 14.