Victim, alleged target in Wilkinsburg mass shooting jailed on material witness warrant

A victim and alleged target in the 2016 Wilkinsburg mass shooting is in custody while a judge considers the likelihood of him showing up to court to testify.

Lamont Powell, 28, is alleged to have been the target of the shooting that killed three of his siblings, a cousin, a friend and an unborn nephew. Cheron Shelton, 32, and Robert Thomas, 31, have been charged in the slaying. They could face the death penalty if convicted.

Assistant District Attorney Lisa Pellegrini said prosecutors secured a material witness warrant for Powell after he failed to comply with a subpoena that ordered him to appear in court Jan. 6. She said they expect him to be an uncooperative witness.

She pointed to his prior arrests and alleged he’s been dodging the court system “for four years.”

Powell was taken into custody Wednesday morning. At a bail hearing Thursday, Pellegrini asked Judge Edward J. Borkowski to hold Powell in jail until the Feb. 3 trial begins. Powell’s attorney, Tom N. Farrell, assured the judge his client will show up to court and asked that he be released.

He stressed that Powell was a victim in the shooting.

“He’s a victim in this crime,” Farrell said. “He is a victim in that he was attacked and shot.”

He said that one of the defendants in the case attacked Powell in the Allegheny County Jail on Thursday morning. Pellegrini said that Powell was the aggressor.

Warden Orlando Harper confirmed that two inmates – Powell and Thomas – were involved in a “brief altercation” as they were being taken to court. He said neither was injured, and both were checked by medical staff as a precaution.

Harper said the incident will be reviewed to see whether correct procedures were followed and whether changes should be made.

Farrell said he thinks Powell will be in danger if he remains in the county jail.

Prosecutors have alleged that Shelton targeted Powell because he believed Powell was the gunman in the 2013 killing of Shelton’s best friend, Calvin Doswell. Powell has not been charged in connection with Doswell’s killing.

Farrell said Powell has a job and is supporting the children of his slain siblings. He noted that he is already on supervised probation. He said Powell was confused by the subpoena.

Pellegrini painted a different picture. When a detective showed up to serve the subpoena during one Powell’s probation meetings last month, he allegedly replied, “’I’m not coming, so you might as well arrest me,’” she said.

“He had no intention of coming to this court,” she said. “He knew why he had to be here.”

Borkowski said he will make a decision Friday morning.