Pair pleads guilty in Park Union shooting case

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Summer Wildcat Arizona Summer Wildcat File Photo One of the two 19-year-old shooting victims is wheeled into an ambulance. The February shooting prompted a push for greater on-campus security.

Two alleged gang members accused of shooting two men at a UA-sorority sponsored dance in February pleaded guilty to aggravated assault charges yesterday.

The men could face up to eight years in prison when sentenced July 29.

Osahafo J. Brewer, 17, of the 3100 block of North Wilson Street, and Xamaca L. Carpenter, 20, of the 1900 block of East Hidalgo Vista, agreed to a plea bargain in lieu of their scheduled trial for felony endangerment and attempted murder along with the aggravated assault charges, said Deputy County Attorney Teresa Godoy.

Godoy said Carpenter and Brewer are not eligible for probation and could get between 2.5 and 8.75 years in prison for the crime, a class three felony. She would not comment further on the case.

"The only question is going to be, 'How much time?'" she said.

Carpenter and Brewer were arrested minutes after the shooting, which occurred shortly after midnight Feb. 13 in an alley between the Park Student Union, 615 N. Park Ave., and Kaibab-Huachuca Residence Hall, 922 E. Fourth St., during a Delta Sigma Theta sorority-sponsored dance.

Police found a semi-automatic handgun and a revolver inside a vehicle they were riding in Ð a vehicle that was similar to descriptions of the getaway car witnesses saw speeding away from the shooting.

Police said the shooting was gang-related, and had stemmed from an argument that sparked up outside the dance.

Several Kaibab-Huachuca residents heard the argument erupt outside and reported hearing about 12 shots before looking out their windows into the alley to see about 35 people running in different directions.

Two men, both Tucson residents, were taken to University Medical Center and treated for gunshots to the leg and foot, and later released. Nobody involved in the shooting was a UA student.

The shooting prompted a series of meetings between university police, administrators from the dean of students office and members of the community to review safety and security measures at on-campus events.

Public Defender Steve Sonenberg, Carpenter's lawyer, would not say yesterday why his client chose the plea agreement and would not comment on the case.

David Lipartito, Brewer's lawyer, could not be reached for comment yesterday.