Wilkinsburg shooting suspect Robert Thomas released from jail after having charges dismissed

Robert Thomas went from facing a capital murder case to walking out of the Allegheny County Jail in the span of about 24 hours.

Thomas, 31, was charged with six counts of homicide as a co-defendant in the 2016 mass shooting in Wilkinsburg that killed five adults and an unborn child.

The trial for Thomas and 33-year-old Cheron Shelton was set to begin Monday morning, but an hour before opening statements, Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski dismissed all 19 charges against Thomas.

He was released from jail, where he had been held on prior drug charges after the homicide charges were dismissed, shortly before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The trial against Shelton went through its second day Tuesday.

Thomas’ attorney, Casey White, argued in a motion filed Thursday that prosecutors had little tangible evidence against his client.

The motion came after Deputy District Attorney Kevin Chernosky and Assistant District Attorney Lisa Pellegrini agreed not to call an unnamed jailhouse witness known only as Witness 3. The individual was set to be the prosecution’s main witness against Thomas.

Questions about the witness’ credibility arose last week when it came to light he offered information in a dozen other cases and was alleged to have confessed to taking part in a 2013 drive-by shooting that killed a 15-month-old child. It was also revealed that Allegheny County Police offered relocation services and financial assistance in exchange for information.

“They are treacherous waters. We know that from experience,” Borkowski said of cooperating witnesses.

Chernosky and Pellegrini said they had enough evidence from cellphone records, video surveillance and interviews to make their case against Thomas.

White said Thomas never admitted the cellphone number police believe he used that night was his and information gleaned from cellphone towers doesn’t necessarily place him at the crime scene. Additionally, he said, the original criminal complaint against Thomas and Shelton relied on information from two jailhouse witnesses who since have been excluded from the case.

“In short,” White wrote in his motion, “the underlying crux of the Commonwealth’s case is that (Thomas) was at or near the scene when five individuals and an unborn child were killed. To date, however, the Commonwealth has failed to produce any physical evidence or eyewitness testimony that (he) committed the crimes charged.”