Preliminary hearing pushed back for accused killer of Temple student

The preliminary hearing for the 22-year-old man charged in connection with the New Year’s Day murder of student Stephen Johnson has been rescheduled for March 12.

Lawrence Jeffries of Glenside, Pa., is charged with murder and related offenses in the triple shooting that left Johnson dead and injured three others. At 3:40 a.m. on Jan. 1, Johnson, 23, was shot in the chest on the 1700 block of West Venango Street in Tioga after an apparent argument and pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital at 4:04 a.m., according to police.

Two other 22-year-old men were shot, one in the foot and the other in the chest and foot. A fourth victim sustained fractures to both of her feet after jumping from the second floor window to avoid the gunfire, police said.

Johnson was a senior marketing major and MIS minor and was set to graduate this spring.