Police arrest 2nd of 3 suspects in slaying of Woodland Hills graduate

Police last week arrested the second of three suspects in the September slaying of a Woodland Hills High School graduate and former football standout.

Marcus Johnson, 23, of Pittsburgh was charged Saturday in the killing of Gavin Yarbough, 21.

Police said Yarbough was shot multiple times during a late-night meeting Sept. 16 in what investigators believe was a drug deal that turned into a robbery.

On April 25, Pittsburgh police made the first arrest in the case, charging John Melvin Kyles, 20, of Pittsburgh.

Charges also were filed last month against Zion White, 21 , also of Pittsburgh. Police told TribLive White has not been taken into custody.

Johnson and Kyles remained Friday in the Allegheny County Jail, where they were being held without bail.

Yarbough was shot in the head, neck and torso around 10:50 p.m. Sept. 16 on Meadow Street in Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood, according to authorities and a criminal complaint.

An unnamed witness rushed Yarbough in a private vehicle to UPMC Presbyterian hospital, where he later died.

Yarbough graduated from Woodland Hills High School in 2021. He played defensive back, and in his senior year, he was named an all-conference football player for the Woodland Hills Wolverines.

A masked man

Police said Yarbough had started selling drugs to a man believed to be White a month or two before the shooting.

The witness drove Yarbough to Larimer so Yarbough could “meet someone to drop off marijuana,” the complaint said.

During the drive, Yarbough and White exchanged multiple texts, the complaint said. According to investigators, White directed Yarbough to 6234 Meadow St. — two adjacent buildings separated by a vacant lot.

Yarbough and White had handled drug deals previously at the same spot, police said.

Within moments of Yarbough arriving on Meadow Street, a masked man walked up to the car, the complaint said.

“Give me all that (expletive),” he told the witness, according to the complaint.

No money changed hands, police said. There was gunfire and Yarbough was hit.

Police found five spent bullet casings at the scene. Two had the same caliber as two handguns — a .45-caliber Glock and a 9 mm pistol — owned by Johnson, according to investigators.

Months later, in mid-January, Allegheny County Police found Johnson’s 9 mm pistol in an unrelated investigation, the complaint said.

Crime lab tests later showed two of the bullets fired in Larimer in September came from that gun.

Other evidence

In addition to ballistics evidence, investigators also used cellphone records and cameras to make their case against the trio.

Investigators found records on Yarbough’s phone, which the witness turned over, that showed the victim’s last call with White ended minutes before the shooting, at 10:47 p.m.

Cameras and license plate readers showed a silver Chevrolet with Pennsylvania plates, which was registered to Kyles, leaving the crime scene, the complaint said.

Police searched Kyles’ phone and found on it two photos from Yarbough’s Instagram account, the complaint said.

Data from that phone showed that Kyles searched the internet for “shooting in Pittsburgh today” at least five times on the morning after the shooting, the complaint said.

Johnson and Kyles have been charged with criminal homicide, robbery and other counts.

Johnson, whose attorney was not listed Friday in court records, has a preliminary hearing schedule for June 6, court records show.

Attorney Owen Seman, who represents Kyles, declined comment Friday.

Kyles’ preliminary hearing is set for June 4.