Lawyer claims bad blood preceded Pittsburgh road-rage slaying as trial opens

Both the prosecutor and the defense attorney agreed on the basic facts at the crime scene in Pittsburgh’s South Hills — all captured on video by city cameras.

Connor Makstutis, who was in his silver Ford Ranger on Banksville Road near Crane Avenue during evening rush hour on March 13, 2023, shot Richard Derkach three times in the chest as the man stood outside Makstutis’ driver’s-side door.

Derkach ran back to his minivan and tried to drive off, making it only about 100 yards before coming to rest in front of a Pittsburgh police car monitoring traffic on Banksville.

Makstutis drove away.

Derkach, 34, of Pittsburgh, died a short time later at a local hospital. Makstutis, 25, of the city’s Beechview neighborhood, was charged later that night with homicide.

But it was at that point in the lawyers’ opening statements Wednesday in Makstutis’ Allegheny County Common Pleas Court trial that their stories diverged.

Defense attorney Lee Rothman told the jury his client drove off — but didn’t flee. He headed directly to Pittsburgh police headquarters, where he turned himself in 12 minutes later.

Moreover, Rothman continued, this wasn’t a case of road rage among strangers. Derkach had been harassing his client for nearly a year, he said.

“It wasn’t the first time this has happened,” Rothman said. “It’s because, for about 10 months prior to this date, (Makstutis) had been harassed, badgered and threatened by a man named Ricky.”

Derkach, the lawyer said, had threatened Makstutis’ family, “telling them what he was going to do to them.”

The situation had become so concerning, Rothman said, his client got a license to carry a concealed firearm.

The day of the shooting, Rothman continued, Makstutis acted in self-defense.

But, Rothman said, the police focused only on the shooting scene and failed to do a follow-up investigation.

“What the police didn’t do is try to find out why this happened,” Rothman said. “You’re going to hear about shots being fired at my client.

“You make the determination whether he was justified.”

But Allegheny County Assistant District Attorney Matthew Newman said Makstutis is guilty of criminal homicide.

“The victim was unarmed,” Newman said.

During his four-minute opening statement, the prosecutor said the city’s video cameras show Derkach’s hands were empty as he stood in front of Makstutis that day.

“You’ll see in the video, he has nothing in his hands,” Newman said.

He urged the jury not to focus on the past dispute between the men but what happened on the road that day.

“That is what we’re here about,” the prosecutor said.

The encounter

On Wednesday afternoon, while Pittsburgh homicide Det. Edward Fallert testifed, the prosecution played several camera angles that captured the shooting that day on the border of the city’s Banksville and Beechview neighborhoods.

The evidence showed Makstutis pulled up to a red light on Banksville Road, heading inbound, at Crane Avenue, with Derkach right behind him.

Within six seconds, Derkach was out of his vehicle and approaching Makstutis’s driver’s-side window.

As Derkach got closer, Makstutis’ truck pulled forward twice.

“My client is trying to move forward away from him again?” Rothman asked Fallert.

“Yes, sir,” the detective answered.

At the same time, Derkach’s brother could be seen exiting the passenger side of the minivan.

Almost as soon as Derkach walked in front of Makstutis’ window, he flinched in the video and then ran back to his vehicle. His brother also ran to the back of the minivan momentarily before getting inside

On cross-examination, Fallert testified Derkach had a previous conviction in 2010 for aggravated assault for which he received a state prison sentence of up to 10 years.