First day of jury selection in 2016 Wilkinsburg massacre yields 2 jurors

Two jurors were seated Monday in the trial for two suspects in the 2016 Wilkinsburg mass shooting, which killed five adults and an unborn child.

Attorneys interviewed nine potential jurors in the first day of jury selection for the capital case against Cheron Shelton and Robert Thomas. Counsel for defense and prosecution must agree on jurors, and death penalty cases generally require a lengthy vetting process.

Shelton and Thomas are both charged with five counts of homicide, one count of homicide of an unborn child and other felonies related to the March 9, 2016, shooting.

Shelton, 32, is represented by defense attorneys Wendy Williams and Randall McKinney. Thomas, 31, is represented by Casey White and Michael Machen.

Deputy District Attorney Kevin Chernosky and Assistant District Attorney Lisa Pellegrini are prosecuting the case.

Five potential jurors were excused for hardship reasons, as Judge Edward Borkowski indicated the guilt phase of the trial could last three weeks. The prosecution and defense each struck one juror.

One, a 29-year-old woman who told attorneys she’d previously been the victim of a crime and believed the defense attorney in that case “threw the (victims) under the bus,” was struck by Shelton’s defense team.

The prosecution struck a younger man who said he’d previously been arrested for driving under the influence and whose uncle is a suburban police officer.

A man was struck for cause after he said his son was wounded in a street shooting. He claimed his family received little support from police and acknowledged he’d never really made peace with the incident.

The man began to tear up and then spoke directly to Shelton and Thomas.

“Search inside yourself — please, whatever you do, find forgiveness inside yourselves if that’s what is needed,” the man said. “Find God in your hearts and repent if that’s the case.”

Asked if he thought he could be an unbiased juror, he said he wanted to be fair to the defendants and wasn’t certain he could be impartial.

Jurors who made it past the hardship question underwent extensive vetting, lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to nearly an hour. Questions included a willingness to presume the defendants innocent until proven guilty and ability to prescribe the death penalty if necessary. Defense attorneys made sure to press the fact that life in prison without parole is an option.

The first juror selected was the first man interviewed, a Vietnam War veteran with two grown children. He said he’s worked as a medical equipment repairman for 16 years and that his Catholic faith would not interfere with his ability to be impartial.

He said he was not familiar with the case other than hearing about it on television years ago.

The second juror is a recent graduate from Clarion University who is working toward her master’s degree. She said she works as a paraprofessional in a suburban school district and wasn’t familiar with the case.

She said if the trial would reach the penalty phase, she could be steadfast if she chose life in prison while everyone else chose the death penalty. Conversely, she said, she would respect others who might choose a life sentence if she chose death.

In Pennsylvania, a jury weighing capital punishment must be unanimous in prescribing death as a sentence. Anything less than unanimous means a defendant will receive life without parole.

Prosecutors have 20 preemptory challenges in what will likely be a multi-day process. Each defendant has 10 preemptory challenges. Twenty potential jurors were brought in Monday morning.

The case against Shelton and Thomas is set to begin Feb. 3. They will be on trial together, but the jury will decide guilt separately.

Killed in the gunfire were siblings Jerry Shelton, 35, Brittany Powell, 27, and Chanetta Powell, 25; their cousin, Tina Shelton, 37; family friend Shada Mahone, 26; and Chanetta Powell’s unborn son, Demetrius. None of the slain Sheltons is related to the defendant.

More than a dozen friends and family members had gathered in Brittany Powell’s Franklin Avenue backyard for a cookout, taking advantage of an unseasonably warm night.

Authorities at the time called the shooting a targeted ambush, alleging Thomas, armed with a handgun, began shooting from an alley, driving the crowd toward the back porch. They say Shelton came from between the houses and, using an AK-47-style weapon, mowed down people as they bottlenecked at the back door.

Three others were injured, two critically.

Shelton and Thomas were charged June 23, 2016, with the slayings. They had been in the Allegheny County Jail for two months prior on unrelated charges.