Police release details about motel manager slaying, shooting of woman, Pittsburgh detective

A motel manager was shot in the head at point-blank range Friday afternoon after stepping outside to check on a disturbance at the Pittsburgh Motel in Robinson, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case Saturday.

“Are you alright, bud?” Rakesh Bhagavan, 51, asked a man holding a gun and walking toward him.

Police said surveillance camera footage shows a man identified as Stanley Eugene West, 37, continue to walk toward Bhagavan.

“As (West) gets within feet of Bhagavan, he raised his firearm and shoots him in the head,” the complaint states.

Bhagavan died at the scene.

West is charged with criminal homicide, attempted homicide and recklessly endangering another person.

According to police, West shot a female companion outside the motel and later exchanged gunfire with police who tracked him to the East Hills of Pittsburgh after he left the motel. West was shot by police and taken to a hospital in critical condition.

The woman was taken to a hospital in critical condition and a police detective was taken to a hospital after being shot and is expected to recover.

West was staying in a room at the motel in Robinson, police said. He also is associated with a residence on Page Street on Pittsburgh’s North Side.

According to the arrest papers, Robinson police were dispatched to the Dick Kernick Tire & Auto Service Center at about 1 p.m. where West’s female companion had driven after being shot in the neck while she was sitting in a car in the motel parking lot.

A child — who had been sitting in the rear of the car when the woman was shot — was not injured and was still with her. Another motel resident told TribLive on Friday that West, the woman and the child had been staying there for about two weeks.

Police said the woman was attempting drive away from the motel Friday and, as her black sedan began to move forward toward the exit, West approached the driver’s side door and shot at the sedan, shattering the driver’s door window.

That incident is what drew Bhagavan outside where he was shot, according to police.

The criminal complaint states that there was a U-Haul moving van parked in the lot next to the black sedan and “after shooting Bhagavan, the actor (West) nonchalantly walks to the U-Haul and drives away.”

Police said they recovered a 9mm Blazer Luger from the sidewalk near Bhagavan’s body.

Van tracked to East Hills

Police tracked West in the U-Haul using license plate reading cameras and Pittsburgh police detectives approached the van at about 2:30 p.m. in the 2200 block of Wilner Drive in Pittsburgh’s East Hills section.

According to information released Friday by Allegheny County Police, West got out of the van and started shooting.

“The detectives returned fire,” Allegheny County Police Superintendent Christopher Kearns said Friday. “Multiple shots were fired by multiple officers.”

Both West and a Pittsburgh detective were shot in the exchange of gunfire. The officer has not been publicly identified.

In a statement, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police said their detective was resting comfortably at home with his family.

“The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police is grateful to the incredible care provided by the doctors and nurses at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital and to all of our local law enforcement partners who work so hard to keep Allegheny County safe in the fight against violent crime,” acting Chief Martin Devine said in the statement.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Rakesh Bhagavan’s last name.