Pitcairn man sentenced to at least 8 years in prison for attacking elderly neighbor with hammer

A Pitcairn man faces eight to 16 years in prison for beating his 71-year-old neighbor with a hammer last summer.

Commons Pleas Judge Beth A. Lazzara imposed the sentence on William Alan Jackson, 43, on Thursday for the Aug. 10 attack, court records show.

Jackson had negotiated a guilty plea on charges of aggravated assault and making terroristic threats, court records show. Prosecutors withdrew two other charges — attempted homicide and recklessly endangering another person.

The Allegheny County Public Defender’s Office, which represented Jackson, declined comment Thursday through county spokeswoman Abigail Gardner.

Jackson entered the home of Edward McDowell in the 1200 block of Wall Avenue in Pitcairn around noon on Aug. 10 and confronted him, according to the criminal complaint filed against him. The two men argued.

Jackson’s mother then saw Jackson punching and kicking McDowell to the ground, the complaint said. Jackson took McDowell’s cellphone, walked to the victim’s front porch and threw it across the street.

Monroeville police responding to a call from Jackson’s mother found McDowell lying in a pool of blood, the complaint said. Police found a blood-covered hammer near McDowell. Walls, a door frame and other items nearby were spattered with blood.

McDowell suffered multiple head injuries and was taken to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville in critical condition.

In August, Allegheny County Police said Jackson confessed to the assault but denied hitting McDowell with the hammer, the criminal complaint said.

After serving his prison sentence, Jackson must remain on probation for four years.