As jurors deliberate in Wilkinsburg shooting case, questions arise

Jurors in the 2016 Wilkinsburg mass shooting deliberated about seven hours on Tuesday before going home without reaching a verdict.

Judge Edward J. Borkowski, who is presiding over the case, said he’s letting jurors set the pace of the deliberations.

The jurors – six men and six women – reported at 9 a.m. for their first full day of deliberations after testimony wrapped up the day prior. They left the courthouse about 4 p.m. and will return at 9 a.m. Wednesday as they weigh the fate of Cheron Shelton.

Shelton, 33, is charged with six counts of homicide in connection with the March 9, 2016, shooting that killed five adults and an unborn child. If convicted of first-degree murder, he could face the death penalty.

Shortly before the jury was released, defense attorney Wendy Williams moved for a mistrial, raising an objection to the judge and District Attorney’s Office releasing some of the exhibits entered into evidence during the trial, including audio of the first 911 call and audio of the gunshots.

Evidence is generally released to the media as it is entered into evidence, but Borkowski said weeks ago that nothing would be released until jurors began their deliberations.

Borkowski denied the motion from the bench.

About 2 p.m., jurors sent word to the judge they had two questions. One asked for a copy of the T-Mobile phone records entered into evidence last week and a highlighter. The other asked, “Who does the prosecution allege held the .40-caliber and rifle?”

Prosecutors allege Shelton fired 30 7.62x39-caliber rounds at the backyard cookout from an AK-47-style rifle. His former co-defendant had been accused of firing the handgun. Much of the prosecution’s evidence revolved around placing Shelton at the scene and the rifle that fired the deadly rounds in his hands.

That evidence included ammunition of the same caliber but from a different manufacturer that police found in the home of Shelton’s mother.

Borkowski said he would provide copies of the phone records. He told jurors their other question was a “question of fact” they must resolve based on the evidence and his instructions as to the law.

Among the exhibits released by the District Attorney’s Office were full photos of a four-page letter Shelton wrote to his girlfriend, Channel Falls, after he was picked up for a probation violation a few weeks after the shooting. Investigators zeroed in on him early, and his letter references the fact that police are trying to place him at the scene.

“They are fishing for something more (and) if they had a strong enough case they would’ve charged me,” he wrote. He wrote that his attorney, Randall McKinney, said none of the surveillance footage can place him directly at the scene, and neither can phone records.

He also apologized for not treating her right.

And here’s the letter Shelton sent to his girlfriend, Channel Falls. pic.twitter.com/trMJNrnddL

— Megan Guza (@meganguzaTrib) February 11, 2020

“I can honestly say you are my queen. My trophy. My everything in this world,” he wrote. “And it’s sad to say I may have took you for granted a few times.”

A second letter to Adrien Falls, Channel Falls’ father, gives instruction on where to find “something” at a house “around the corner.”

“I got something there that I was working on getting rid of,” he wrote. “You don’t got to do nothing but open the door and guide my (expletive) to it. It’s downstairs next to the lawn mowers wrapped and ready to be tossed (sic).”

Editor’s note: This letter contains some explicit language

The jury is deliberating this morning in the 2016 Wilkinsburg mass shooting case. In the meantime, the court has released some of the exhibits entered by prosecutors. Here’s the letter Cheron Shelton sent to “Pops,” his GF’s father, from ACJ prior to homicide charges being filed pic.twitter.com/3guCosNh46

— Megan Guza (@meganguzaTrib) February 11, 2020

The court also released video secretly recorded during a jailhouse visit between Shelton and his father. Investigators say the video captures Shelton’s expression when he finds out police intercepted the letters.

Investigators, through a search warrant, recorded this video of a visit between Shelton and his father. Prosecutors say this is the moment Shelton finds out his letters from jail were intercepted. pic.twitter.com/XAuCre3v6a

— Megan Guza (@meganguzaTrib) February 11, 2020

The second video clip allegedly shows Shelton miming firing a rifle and starting a lawnmower.

Here’s the second bit the DA’s office released. Investigators say Shelton is miming a rifle and a lawnmower. pic.twitter.com/PHXbn12SCt

— Megan Guza (@meganguzaTrib) February 11, 2020