A Washington County parolee remained in jail Friday after, authorities say, he killed his sister’s boyfriend following an argument that ended in the parking lot of a Braddock Hills bar earlier this month.
Allegheny County Police said Abdullaah Bin Francken, 23, of North Franklin, fatally shot William Coffey, 24, early June 7 outside of J Cats Bar and Grill on Wilkins Avenue.
Francken, who got out of state prison seven months ago in connection with a Pittsburgh robbery conviction, was arrested Wednesday and denied bail.
He had been charged June 10 with criminal homicide and two firearms counts in the shooting case.
On the day of the shooting, Coffey started arguing with his girlfriend — identified by authorities as Abdullaah’s sister — after 1 a.m. while they and others were driving to a Braddock home after stopping at a GetGo convenience store in Edgewood, police said.
During the argument, Coffey’s girlfriend, who is identified in the complaint as “Witness #2,” and a second person got out of car near the intersection of Ardmore Boulevard and Braddock Avenue, police said. They walked to J Cats Bar to get a ride.
Coffey continued driving to the bar with Francken as a passenger. When the men arrived at the bar, the argument continued, police said.
At some point, police said, Coffey punched his girlfriend in the face and ripped off her shirt. She responded by grabbing the car keys and throwing them across the street.
The men stepped outside, and Francken shot Coffey multiple times and left the scene, police said.
A bartender called 911.
Police were dispatched at 1:50 a.m. and found Coffey lying on his back in the parking lot near the bar’s dumpster, police said. A paramedic pronounced him dead at the scene at 2:16 a.m.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Coffey died from multiple gunshot wounds of the head, neck and torso.
Surveillance cameras captured some of the argument but not the shooting itself, police said.
Video showed Francken fleeing into the woods.
Francken is, by law, not allowed to possess a gun, police said.
He pleaded guilty to a 2019 Pittsburgh robbery. A judge sentenced him to 18 to 36 months in prison and two years of probation.
Francken entered prison on Oct. 25, 2021 and was paroled Nov. 29, 2023.
