Defendant testifies he feared for his life when he fired fatal shots outside Club Erotica in McKees Rocks

Charles Becher said he thought he was going to die outside a McKees Rocks strip club in January.

Becher, testifying Friday in his own defense in an Allegheny County homicide trial, told a jury that he had been inside Club Erotica when he heard his sister and cousin were involved in an altercation outside the club.

After seeing his sister and a man pushing and hitting each other in the parking lot, Becher said he pulled out his gun. Becher, 24, a Pennsylvania National Guard member, had a concealed-carry permit for the weapon.

“I told them to back up and leave us alone,” he testified.

Within about a minute, two people had suffered gunshot wounds that would be fatal and three others were injured, including Becher, who was shot in the leg.

Becher was charged with criminal homicide in connection with the Jan. 29 death of Seth Andrew McDermit, 31, of Monongahela, and aggravated assault in connection with the wounding of another man that day.

The prosecution believes that Becher had a duty to retreat and is seeking a conviction of first-degree murder. Becher claims he fired in self-defense and ought to be acquitted.

In his testimony Friday, Becher said that a man continued to advance toward him after he pulled out his gun. Becher said he swung at the man with the gun, and it fell to the ground.

At that point, Becher said someone approached him from behind and punched him in the side of the face, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground. He said three to four people kicked and punched him, while another person choked him from behind.

“After they were beating me, I heard gunshots,” he said. “I was struck in the leg.”

Becher said he tried to run away but couldn’t put any pressure on his leg. He fell again.

That’s when Becher said he saw his gun on the ground a couple feet away. He testified that he reached for the weapon as someone kicked him in the groin, and then he saw McDermit charging toward him.

“I shot two times into the air,” Becher said. “I was trying to get him away from me. I was scared. He continued to punch me in my face. He said, ‘I’m going to (expletive) kill you.’”

Becher said he couldn’t get McDermit off him. He fired again, shooting McDermit in the abdomen.

Also shot and killed that night was Christopher Roy Butler, 22, of West Mifflin. A co-defendant, Khalil Walls, is charged in Butler’s death and is scheduled to go to trial separately next year.

“Did you intend to kill him?” defense attorney James Wymard asked Becher on Friday.

“No,” Becher answered.

On cross-examination, Assistant District Attorney Ryan Kiray asked the defendant if he was “fairly intoxicated” at the time of the event.

Becher said he didn’t think he was, but acknowledged that his blood alcohol content at the time was 0.172% — or more than twice the legal limit.

The defendant testified that there was a chance to walk away — and that the women he was with started to — but that instead, they kept returning to the confrontation.

Becher, who previously served in the U.S. Army, admitted that he wasn’t assaulted until after he hit one of the men with the gun. He also testified that he sustained injuries to his face, head, neck, shoulders and hand as he was being punched on the ground.

In rebuttal, the prosecution called Allegheny County homicide Detective Greg Renko to the stand. A former Army soldier, Renko testified that he was trained to always be in control of his firearm and to never fire warning shots or use his weapon to strike a person.

The defense called two witnesses who currently serve in the Pennsylvania National Guard with Becher to testify.

The men said that in their infantry training, they were taught to use warning shots to dispel a possible threat, and that in close-quarters combat, they were taught they could use a weapon to strike an opponent.

Becher’s trial, before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani, began Oct. 4. Both sides rested on Friday, and the jury will hear closing arguments Tuesday morning before beginning deliberations.