Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday morning for the trial against two men accused in the massacre of five adults and an unborn child in Wilkinsburg nearly four years ago.
Cheron Shelton, 32, and Robert Thomas, 31, each face five counts of homicide, one count of homicide of an unborn child and a slew of other charges in the March 9, 2016, mass shooting at a backyard barbecue.
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 are 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 the 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.
Prosecutors have claimed the massacre was an act of revenge by Shelton against Lamont Powell, brother to three of the dead. He was shot four times but survived his wounds.
Shelton and Thomas were charged June 23, 2016, with the slayings. They’d been in the Allegheny County Jail for two months prior on unrelated charges.
The case has been pending since, with intermittent motions hearings. A jury trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 3.
