Juror excused in 2016 Wilkinsburg mass shooting case, total selected down to 9

Attorneys selected no new jurors — and one already seated was excused — on Tuesday in an Allegheny County death penalty case headed to trial next month.

One juror selected last week in the case against Cheron Shelton and Robert Thomas was excused for unknown reasons. With none selected Tuesday, the number of seated jurors dropped to nine. It is not uncommon for jurors to be excused prior to the start of the trial.

Attorneys need 12 jurors plus four alternates to hear the case. Jury selection began Jan. 6.

Both men face five counts of homicide, one count of homicide of an unborn child and other charges related to the March 9, 2016, shooting on Franklin Avenue in Wilkinsburg. They could face the death penalty if convicted.

Of the jurors interviewed Tuesday, 13 were excused because of disability or economic hardship.

Four prospective jurors were stricken for cause, meaning they had opinions that wouldn’t allow them to be impartial.

One man said he wasn’t sure if he could be impartial because of the violence perpetrated upon an unborn child in this case. Another woman said that her many good experiences with police officers might cause her to give witnesses in law enforcement an edge over other witnesses.

Another man, a Presbyterian who attended a seminary, was stricken after he said he believed the death penalty is unjust and uncalled for in any instance.

The defense used two peremptory challenges to strike one juror, which allow either side to disqualify a juror without stating a reason. Those strikes included a woman who said her grandfather was a former police officer and an engineer who said he’d never given much thought to the death penalty.

Both sides have 20 peremptory challenges. The defense’s are split between to the two defendants.

Prosecutors used one peremptory challenge Tuesday.

Prosecuting the case are Deputy District Attorney Kevin Chernosky and Assistant District Attorney Lisa Pellegrini. Shelton, 32, is represented by Wendy Williams and Randall McKinney, and Thomas, 31, is represented by Casey White and Michael Machen.

The trial is expected to last up to three weeks.

Killed in the 2016 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 are related to the defendant.