Published: July 05, 2009 06:18 pm      

COURTS: Suspect in Deion Wood shooting to face Niagara County grand jury

The case of a man charged in the city’s most recent homicide is heading from City Court to Niagara County Court.

Darrius “D” Molson waived his right to a preliminary hearing in Falls City Court last week and the matter will now be presented by prosecutors to a county grand jury.

Molson, 26, whose last known address was an apartment at the Garden Village complex in Cheektowaga, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder in the slaying Deion Wood. Wood, 27, 563 24th St., was gunned down as he sat on a porch in the 1900 block of Ferry Avenue in the early morning hours of June 13.

It’s expected Molson may face additional charges after the grand jury completes its review of the case.

Police, acting on a tip, picked Molson up at a 19th Street home on June 19. Officers said he offered no resistance.

Since Molson’s arrest, investigators have concentrated on looking for Phillip “Country” Holloway, 21, of Texas City, Texas. Detectives believe Holloway may still be in Western New York.

Neither Molson nor Holloway are strangers to law enforcement. Molson was one of 10 people arrested during drug raids at a pair of 20th Street crack houses in March.

He has a rap sheet that includes 17 separate arrests on a combined 35 different charges. Seven of those charges were felonies, including one classified as a “violent” felony.

Molson has six criminal convictions and has been the subject of three different warrants for failing to appear in court at various times.

Holloway reportedly has an arrest record in Texas and may be linked to crimes in Buffalo, including a homicide.

“We believe (Holloway) has been around here for a couple of months,” Falls Police Detective Capt. Ernest Palmer said. “It appears he has some contacts in Niagara Falls.”

Palmer said Holloway should be considered armed and dangerous.

Officers responded to a call of “shots fired” and found Wood in front of a Ferry Avenue home where he had been sitting on the porch with a woman. Witnesses said two suspects had approached Wood and one opened fire with what was reported to be a silver handgun.

Wood “suffered multiple gunshot wounds” to his lower body. Neighbors reported hearing at least five shots and seeing two men, dressed in black clothing, running from the scene.

The suspects were last seen by witnesses in the 500 block of 20th Street getting into a dark four-door vehicle.

Investigators confirmed Wood was on parole for a previous criminal conviction but have remained tight-lipped about a possible motive for the killing.