A McKeesport man accused of shooting another in the face during an alleged road rage incident on the Parkway West this summer will remain in jail pending trial.
Rashawn Hall, 22, asked the court earlier this month to reconsider his request to be released on bond, arguing that he has strong family ties, was employed for a local cleaning service and had previously been on electronic home monitoring without incident.
However, none of that, said Common Pleas Judge Bruce Beemer, is enough to convince him of the safety of the community were Hall to be released.
Hall is charged with attempted homicide, conspiracy and aggravated assault stemming from the July 14 incident on the Parkway West.
Just before 6 p.m., police said that Hall pulled alongside another vehicle on the Parkway West and fired four to six shots.
One of them struck the victim, Bob Long, in the face.
Long lost his left eye and sustained extensive damage to his nasal cavity and orbital socket.
On Tuesday, he appeared via video screen from his home in Indiana to oppose Hall’s release on bond.
“Emotional scars and trauma are endless,” Long said. “It’s affected everything in my life.”
Although Long returned to work in the last couple weeks, he said he still cannot drive and has another surgery scheduled.
Long said he is not fearful of Hall, but that he worries for the community in Pittsburgh.
“If the defendant is released on bail, he’d have the opportunity to go out and do this to someone in the City of Pittsburgh,” Long said.
He also questioned whether Hall would flee.
Hall was arrested on July 18 by Pittsburgh police.
Defense attorney Anne Marie Mancuso told Beemer that her client would live with his mother if released on electronic monitoring, and that he has never before skipped a hearing.
“They are still allegations,” Mancuso said. “The presumption of innocence remains.”
Mancuso said that there are allegations that Hall was driving the car involved in the shooting that day, and that someone else fired the shots.
But Assistant District Attorney Heather Schultz said Hall should not be released.
“The facts of this case are egregious,” she said. “The defendant poses a very serious threat to the safety of the community.”
Hall has previous adjudications for possessing a firearm as a juvenile, as well as conspiracy to commit terroristic threats. He also has an adult conviction for a firearms count.
In announcing his decision, Beemer said that electronic home monitoring doesn’t prevent a defendant from leaving their home or obtaining a firearm.
Hall’s previous criminal history, as well as the random nature of the crime are enough, the judge said, to not change the previous decision denying bail.
Hall is scheduled for trial on March 11.
