Man charged in connection with Crafton Heights killing

A Pittsburgh man was arrested Thursday in connection to a fatal shooting in Pittsburgh’s Crafton Heights neighborhood.

Isreal Moseby, 19, of Pittsburgh is charged with criminal homicide in the shooting death of Samantha Tabitha Howells, 52.

Police found Howells with gunshot wounds to her upper torso after responding to a ShotSpotter alert just before 4:30 a.m. June 4 in the 1400 block of Chartiers Avenue.

She was slumped over into the open door of a black 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander when officers arrived. They performed CPR until medics took her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Based on video footage and interviews with witnesses, police determined Howells was driving up Corliss Street and appeared to see three people near a property she and her husband owned. The couple had complained of people stealing items from the location, which includes a garage and parking lot where several vehicles were awaiting repair or insurance settlements.

According to the criminal complaint, Howells pulled into the parking lot and confronted Moseby and two others who were with him, snapping photos of the trio on the property.

Police said Moseby grabbed her, walked her to the front of her vehicle and shot her.

One of the witnesses who was with Moseby told police the suspect, who she knew as “E,” told her if the gun did not jam, he would’ve shot the victim more and that he did not want to shoot the woman but once he gets mad, he can’t stop.

After police identified Moseby as the suspected shooter, they determined he also had an outstanding warrant issues for his arrest for a violation of bond conditions.

Online court records show Moseby is being held in the Allegheny County Jail without bail.

Moseby in 2023 was arrested after police said he ransacked a North Side home in search of a gun and stabbed the resident twice.