Allegheny County to pay $425K to man charged but never tried in 2016 Wilkinsburg massacre

Allegheny County will pay $425,000 to one of the men accused of killing six people and an unborn child nearly a decade ago in Wilkinsburg to settle a lawsuit alleging malicious prosecution.

The figure is included in a copy of the July 23 settlement agreement with Robert J. Thomas obtained by TribLive.

Thomas, 36, was arrested — but never tried — in the 2016 killings, one of the most shocking and brazen outbreaks of violence in county history.

The charges against him were thrown out just minutes before testimony was to begin at trial. Another defendant, Cheron Shelton, was acquitted by a jury. No one has ever been held accountable for the murders.

“Allegheny County did not admit liability, but after an analysis of the case and the uncertainty of an outcome of taking the case to trial, we determined that settlement was the best option in resolving this case,” Abigail Gardner, a spokesperson for Allegheny County, told TribLive.

The six-page agreement, which includes a confidentiality clause, was signed by Senior Deputy County Manager Stephen Pilarski and Max Petrunya, a lawyer for Thomas. The county must pay the money in a check to Thomas and the law firm representing him. Payment is due within 60 days of the agreement being executed.

Thomas filed his lawsuit in February 2022, alleging misconduct and malicious prosecution stemming from his arrest. The complaint originally named as defendants the county, five Allegheny County Police Department detectives, two supervisors and the former police superintendent.

The massacre

On the evening of March 9, 2016, a group of family and friends were at a backyard cookout on Franklin Avenue in Wilkinsburg when two men started firing into the crowd.

The victims fled to the home’s back porch as dozens of rounds were fired from an assault rifle.

Five people and an unborn child died that night. A man who was paralyzed in the attack died from his injuries four years later.

Three months after the shooting, county police charged Thomas and Shelton in the slayings.

They alleged that Shelton was armed with an assault rifle that night, while Thomas had a handgun.

Prosecutors sought the death penalty.

For nearly four years, both men remained in custody as the parties prepared for trial. Jury selection began in January 2020.

However, on Feb. 3, 2020, just an hour before testimony was slated to begin, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski threw out the case against Thomas.

Included in the evidence against Thomas was a cooperating jailhouse witness. However, the prosecutors said they would not be calling that witness, after, a week earlier, they acknowledged questions about his credibility.

The man, known as Witness 3, had offered information in a dozen other cases and had allegedly confessed to taking part in a 2013 drive-by-shooting that killed a 15-month-old.

County police had offered to relocate the man and pay him in exchange for information. The defense did not learn that information until days before trial.

Once the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office said the witness would not be called, Thomas’ defense attorney argued there was not enough evidence against his client to hold him on the charges.

The judge agreed, and dismissed the case.

Shelton stood trial alone, and after seven days of trial and three days of deliberation, the jury found him not guilty.

Gauging probable cause

Two years later, both men sued the county.

Thomas alleged the county police were desperate to file charges in the high-profile case and manufactured evidence against him. His claims included allegations that police coerced witnesses to give false information.

Thomas’ civil case was set for a jury trial in November, but earlier this summer, U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon urged the parties to continue settlement discussions.

In March, Bissoon threw out Shelton’s lawsuit, writing in her opinion that there was much stronger evidence in the case against him to support a finding of probable cause to file charges.

“Plaintiffs’ central themes ‒ their questions regarding phone-connections between Shelton and Thomas, and the county’s reliance on unreliable confidential witnesses ‒ matter not,” Bissoon wrote. “Probable cause focuses on whether ‘the totality of the circumstances described in the affidavit provided a substantial basis … to conclude that there was a fair probability’ a crime was committed.”

Her opinion includes a bulleted list of evidence against Shelton, including that a police officer ran the plate of the car investigators said he used that night less than a tenth of a mile from the crime scene, and that video showed a man entering that car around 10:30 p.m.

Investigators also intercepted letters from Shelton in which he allegedly urged his girlfriend and her father to help him get rid of the gun he used.

“The totality of the circumstances,” Bissoon wrote, met the burden to file charges. “The existence of probable cause dooms Shelton’s claims.”

In Thomas’ case, she said it was a closer question. While she granted a motion by the county’s attorneys to throw out one of Thomas’ claims for a due process violation, Bissoon allowed claims for malicious prosecution and conspiracy to remain.

The victims killed the day of the shooting were:

Jerry Shelton, 35, Brittany Powell, 27, and Chanetta Powell, 25; their cousin, Tina Shelton, 37; family friend Shada Mahone, 26; and Chanetta Powell’s unborn son, Demetrius.

John Ellis, who was paralyzed in the shooting, died from his injuries on Sept. 15, 2020.

Casey White, the attorney who represented Thomas in his criminal case, noted that it has been more than nine years since Thomas was originally charged.

“With this related civil matter now being resolved it will provide Mr. Thomas with closure, and it will allow him to finally move forward,” White said.