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PITTSTON &mdash; A 30-year-old man was fatally shot while helping a woman carry bags into a residence on Parsonage Street early Saturday morning.
				City police and Luzerne County detectives allege Joey Bernard Graves Jr., 32, shot Brandon Thomas, of Wilkes-Barre, in the rear of 82 Parsonage St. just before 3:30 a.m.
				Luzerne County Coroner Frank Hacken said Monday an autopsy by forensic pathologist Dr. Gary Ross revealed Thomas died from multiple gunshot wounds. His death was ruled a homicide.
				Graves was charged with an open count of criminal homicide and firearms not to be carried without a license. He was arraigned by District Judge Alexandra Kokura Kravitz in Pittston and jailed at the county correctional facility without bail.
				Investigators say Graves used an AK style rifle that was found under a wheelbarrow behind the house, according to court records.
				According to the criminal complaint:
				Police responded to gunfire on Parsonage Street encountering a man, identified as Graves, barefoot and standing in the roadway.
				Graves uttered to officers, &ldquo;I shot him. I think he is dead, please don&rsquo;t kill me,&rdquo; the complaint says.
				Officers found a lifeless Thomas in the back yard of Graves&rsquo; residence.
				Police in the complaint said Graves waived his right to remain silent and spoke to investigators.
				Graves claimed his girlfriend, Samantha Smart, returned to the residence with her friend, Thomas, in his own vehicle. Graves told investigators Thomas had items in his vehicle for Smart&rsquo;s new business, a salon.
				Smart asked Graves to help carry bags into the house.
				Graves told investigators he became angry that Thomas was at the house. He retrieved a loaded rifle from a bedroom dresser and admitted to shooting Thomas three to four times, the complaint says.
				During an interview with Smart, she told investigators Thomas followed her in his vehicle when she drove home. She called Graves to help carry bags into the house for her salon.
				Smart said Graves and Thomas carried a load of bags into the house through a basement door when Graves dropped bags and proceeded to shoot Thomas multiple times with a long gun, the complaint says.
				Police said Thomas suffered gunshot wounds to his torso and extremities.

Pittston man charged with criminal homicide after fatal shooting