Taco Bell manager found guilty of first-degree murder in Harrison man's death

A former Taco Bell manager was found guilty Tuesday of first-degree murder for killing an employee after a dispute at the fast-food restaurant in Scott where they worked.

Zairyre Simmons faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole in the 2022 shooting death of Dorian Carver of Harrison.

He is scheduled to be sentenced May 1.

A jury returned the guilty verdict early Tuesday afternoon after about nine hours of deliberations, which began Monday.

The trial in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court started Wednesday before Judge Bruce Beemer.

It was never in question whether Simmons fatally shot Carver. But both sides presented jurors with a decision to make: whether Simmons intended to kill his victim.

“This is not a whodunit. It’s not a mystery you have to unravel and solve,” Jarrod Caruso, the prosecutor, told jurors during his opening statement. “Zairyre Simmons killed Dorian Carver intentionally and with malice.”

Prosecutors said Simmons, 26, of Pittsburgh shot Carver, 32, of Harrison on Nov. 9, 2022, after following him out of the Taco Bell, down Cochran Road and into the lobby of the Northwestern Mutual building nearby.

Simmons shot Carver twice.

Earlier, Simmons, a shift manager, had argued with Carver over a written reprimand. The dispute turned physical before Carver left, and the argument moved outside the restaurant.

“Dorian tried to walk away,” a co-worker testified. “Zairyre kept on going with the conversation.”

Simmons testified in his own defense that he feared Carver, who he said had threatened him.

“I couldn’t think straight. I just knew I couldn’t be trapped or in a position where I’d be surprised,” Simmons told the jury.

Simmons said that by the time they got to the office building, Carver’s hands were in his waistband. Simmons said he thought Carver might be concealing a weapon, and he opened fire.

Jonathan D. Silver is a TribLive news editor (jsilver@triblive.com). Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive staff writer (pward@triblive.com).