Shooter reprimanded, lawsuit dismissed after killing in Erie-area strip club
Corey R. Kendig sued a state police trooper after Kendig was found not guilty in the fatal shooting outside Partners Tavern in Harborcreek in 2020. Judge rejects allegations that the trooper lacked probable cause.
Trial of Corey Kendig: Defense explains what led to acquittal in manslaughter
Corey Kendig’s lawyers explain why it took the jury just an hour to find him not guilty in the fatal shooting of Jeremy Jones outside a Harborcreek strip club.
Ed Palattella, Erie Times-News
- Corey R. Kendig, now 33, pleaded self-defense in the fatal shooting of 33-year-old Jeremy Jones in the parking lot of the Partners Tavern strip club in October 2022
- He was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges and then sued the state trooper who brought the charges
- A federal judge dismissed the unusual lawsuit, saying the officer had sufficient cause to charge Kendig and that Kendig’s “prompt appears both irrational and insensitive.”
A 33-year-old businessman who was acquitted of charges related to a fatal shooting outside a Harborcreek Township strip club nearly four years ago has lost a civil rights lawsuit stemming from his criminal case in federal court.
A judge has dismissed the lawsuit filed by businessman Corey R. Kendig in December 2021 against the Pennsylvania State Police trooper who charged him.
U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon granted the state Attorney General’s motion to dismiss the case, rebuking Kendig’s claim that Officer Nicholas Stolar did not have sufficient probable cause to charge him in the death of 33-year-old Jeremy Jones of McKean Township.
Kendig shot the unarmed Jones during a fight in the parking lot of Partners Tavern on East Lake Road in October 2020.
Kendig argued self-defense. An Erie County Common Pleas Court jury found him not guilty on all counts after deliberating for about an hour in August 2021. The Erie County District Attorney’s Office unsuccessfully argued that Kendig was guilty of first-degree murder, third-degree murder or manslaughter.
In the federal case, plaintiff Kendig claimed that Stolar violated his civil rights by charging him without probable cause. The case was unusual in that Kendig contested the legality of charges that were never dropped for lack of evidence.
Bissoon, who lives in Pittsburgh but tries some cases in U.S. District Court in Erie, ruled that Stolar had qualified immunity. She found that he had probable cause to prosecute Kendig.
Kendig’s “self-defense theory does not preclude the existence of a probable cause of action,” Bissoon said in a three-page ruling dated June 21. “The plaintiff was tried on state charges and acquitted.”
“The system worked as intended. The court does not want to live in a world where a person, even in self-defense, shoots an unarmed person without an investigation taking place.”
Bissoon chided Kendig and his Pittsburgh attorney, Joel Sansone, for rejecting their argument. Bissoon said the evidence did not justify “uncritical acceptance of the plaintiff’s self-defense claim.”
“Depending on the circumstances (and jurisdiction), the law does indeed recognize a gun owner’s right to use the weapon of his choice with deadly force in self-defense,” Bissoon said in the order.
“When a person uses such force with deadly effect, it should be neither surprising nor offensive to them that a criminal investigation is being launched. If the deceased was not adequately armed, it seems entirely reasonable to expect that criminal charges will be brought – and naive not to.
“Under these circumstances, it seems both irrational and insensitive to get upset about it. Justice and justification aside, the person is dead.”
A fight and shots in front of a strip club
Stolar accused Kendig of causing Jones’ death when Jones and three or four other people fought Kendig in the parking lot of Partners Tavern, 4715 East Lake Road, at about 1:45 a.m. on Oct. 13, 2020. Kendig had a license to carry the 9 mm handgun he used to shoot Jones in the abdomen.
No one else was charged in this case except Kendig. Kendig was injured in the fight.
Prosecutors argued that Kendig’s injuries, which included a hematoma on one ear, were not severe enough to cause him a reasonable fear of death or serious bodily harm. They also argued that Kendig unlawfully responded to the fight by firing shots.
Kendig, a Greene Township resident who runs a property management business, did not testify in court and was free on bail when he was arraigned. His defense attorneys, Gene Placidi and John Carlson, argued that prosecutors failed to disprove that Kendig acted in self-defense after being “ambushed” outside the strip club.
Kendig did not respond to a request for comment on the dismissal of the federal charges. The state Attorney General’s Office referred questions to state police, which did not comment.
Kendig and the victim’s estate sued each other in other cases
Kendig’s lawsuit in federal court joined the civil case that became part of the murder trial shortly after his indictment. In November 2020, Jones’ mother, representing her son’s estate, filed a negligence lawsuit against Kendig in Erie County Common Pleas Court. And in October 2022, Kendig sued Jones’ mother and his estate in Common Pleas Court.
The estate’s lawsuit against Kendig ended in a $585,000 settlement on December 8, 2022, according to court records. Kendig dropped his lawsuit against the estate a week later.
All that remained was Kendig’s civil suit in federal court.
Judge Bissoon dismissed the case and urged Kendig to dismiss the case. Regardless of the circumstances, Jones’ death was “absolutely certain,” she said in her ruling.
“A jury of the plaintiff’s peers was convened and found in his favor,” Bissoon said. “We should hope, given the facts at hand, that that is enough.”
“From the plaintiff’s perspective, the criminal justice system has produced a fair and positive outcome. He should be grateful that his family and loved ones are not the ones left to mourn a tragic, senseless death.”
Contact Ed Palattella at [email protected] or 814-870-1813. Follow him on X @ETNpalatella.
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