Evans was at scene of fatal shooting

High school basketball superstar Tyreke Evans drove a sport utility vehicle away from the scene after a passenger allegedly shot and killed a man last month, according to a Chester Township police affidavit that was released last week.

Evans, who lives in the city of Chester, has not been charged with any crime.

A senior at American Christian Academy in Aston, Delaware County, Evans is considered one of the nation's top high school players and is being heavily recruited by top-tier colleges, including Villanova, Memphis and Louisville.

He is scheduled to play in the Pete Nelson Classic tonight and tomorrow at Widener University. An event spokesman said "everything is on as usual." American Christian will take on Atlantic City tonight at 6:30.

Neither Evans nor his legal guardian and uncle, Reggie Evans, was available for comment. His friends and family have said little about the incident.

"I have no comment regarding Tyreke Evans," said Tony Bergeron, American Christian's boys' basketball coach. "The American Christian family and the Evans family have agreed not to talk."

A 16-year-old cousin of Evans' was charged with the killing Friday by Chester Township police.

The criminal complaint includes information from an interview with Evans, a 6-foot-6 point guard listed by most talent scouting services as one of the top five players in the Class of 2008.

The victim, Marcus Reason, 19, was shot once in the chest.

According to the affidavit, which was released Friday, Evans, 18, told police he drove to his aunt's house on Rainer Road in Chester after a Nov. 25 basketball game to watch the end of the Denver Broncos-Chicago Bears game on television.

Evans told police that before the game ended, his mother told him by telephone that "the pies that she had just baked were ready."

He told police he went outside, pulled his gold Ford Expedition to the front of his aunt's house, and waited for three companions to join him, including his cousin, Jamar "Mar Mar" Evans.

After they entered the vehicle, the affidavit says, two of the other passengers shouted, "Go! He's about to shoot!" - referring to Reason, who had told a witness he had a problem with some people who were in that house.

Tyreke Evans told police he heard two gunshots as he drove away and saw his cousin "putting a brown-handled, silver handgun into the front pocket of his hooded sweatshirt."He told police that he remained with his cousin for at least 20 minutes after the shooting and overheard a phone conversation regarding the whereabouts of the gun.

Jamar Evans turned himself in to police Friday. He is being held without bail after being charged with first-degree murder and related offenses.

Joseph J. Brielmann, a spokesman for the Delaware County District Attorney's Office, declined to comment on whether Tyreke Evans could be charged in the case.

"Mere presence at the scene of a crime is not evidence of guilt," said Arthur T. Donato Jr., a Delaware County attorney who is not involved in the case. "Assuming he knew nothing about what was going to happen, he wouldn't be guilty of anything."

Evans, who is friends with NBA stars LeBron James and Jason Kidd, has been called "the next great thing" by talent scouts. He has attended American Christian since the seventh grade. Evans entered the season having scored more than 2,400 points in his career.

American Christian hired Bergeron in July 2006 with hopes of elevating the small prep school to national prominence. A former Five-Star Basketball Camp instructor who transformed Wings Academy into a New York City powerhouse, Bergeron put together an ambitious schedule for the 2007-08 season, including games against national high school powers St. Benedict's Prep of Elizabeth, N.J., and St. Anthony of Jersey City.