Pittsburgh police arrest 1 of 3 suspects in deadly Downtown riverfront attack

Pittsburgh police have arrested one of three suspects in the violent robbery and killing of Stephen Williams, a 42-year-old man whose body was found in the Ohio River earlier this month.

Jose Soto, 25, was charged Monday with homicide, robbery and conspiracy in connection with the Sept. 6 killing. His home address is not listed in court records.

Williams, of Pittsburgh, was last seen Sept. 5 leaving the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown hotel around 11:15 p.m., police said. Surveillance video later captured him walking along the Allegheny River with an unidentified woman.

At 12:30 a.m., three men who had been following Williams attacked him, according to a criminal complaint in the case.

The fight lasted less than a minute, the complaint said. Video footage shows that one man dragged Williams toward the river and another — who police later identified as Soto — stomped on his head, the complaint said.

At 12:31 a.m., Williams was thrown into the river. He was not seen resurfacing, police said.

Authorities did not identify the woman and did not indicate whether she was present throughout the assault.

Authorities found Williams’ body Sept. 9 in the Ohio River near Rivers Casino. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that he drowned and ruled his death a homicide.

Police said one of the suspects was seen on video on the night of the killing with a backpack resembling one Williams had carried. A suspect also was spotted on video near the Second Avenue Commons, a Downtown homeless shelter.

Soto was taken Monday to the Allegheny County Jail for a drug offense. The police bureau’s fugitive apprehension unit contacted detectives on the Williams case, saying Soto matched the description of one of the suspects in the riverfront attack.

Soto told detectives he was one of the men seen in the riverfront footage, the complaint said. He admitted smoking crack that night with another suspect, who he refused to identify.

Soto also told police “that if he didn’t throw (Williams) in the river, he didn’t understand how his involvement would be charged as murder,” according to the complaint.

Soto was denied bail Monday and remains in jail. Court records do not list his attorney.

It was not clear if the other two suspects were in custody as of early Tuesday afternoon. They were not named by police in the criminal complaint against Soto.

Pittsburgh police declined comment Tuesday, citing the ongoing investigation.