Tip about Mt. Oliver killing led to arrest in Georgia with case now heading to trial

An anonymous tip this spring from a 412 “burner phone” helped detectives crack open a cold case: the Mt. Oliver home invasion that ended in the fatal shooting of Damon Lincoln.

On Friday afternoon, the case took another step forward when a judge bound suspected gunman David Barlow, now 28, over to Allegheny County Common Pleas court for trial.

“These detectives, they did a good job,” said Rose Schutzeus, 63, of Mt. Oliver, who called herself Lincoln’s “second mom,” after Friday’s preliminary hearing ended. “We’re so happy these detectives didn’t give up on this case.”

Footage from a doorbell camera, which was played in court Friday, showed Lincoln, who was 24, and a friend, Jaymar Daniels, walk out of the home’s rear door around 11:35 p.m. on Dec. 23, 2020, according to a criminal complaint in the case.

Two masked men confronted them, both focusing their attention on Lincoln, the complaint said. The suspects stepped onto a porch area and pushed Lincoln through the rear door. Both were carrying guns.

Once inside the home, an argument ensued.

One of the masked men ransacked Lincoln’s bedroom and stole “about $4,000 to $5,000 cash,” Allegheny County Police Detective Dale Canofari testified Friday.

Lincoln stood in the kitchen with his hands up as the second man held him at gunpoint, police said.

When Lincoln’s mother, Janet Dearolf, heard “a loud commotion and yelling downstairs,” she walked into the kitchen area, police said. The second gunman grabbed Dearolf, threw her to the ground in front of the kitchen sink and started kicking her.

Lincoln intervened.

“The victim was protecting his mother,” Canofari testified.

One of the gunmen then shot Lincoln once in the back and ran out the rear door, police said. Mt. Oliver police minutes later.

First responders rushed Lincoln to UPMC Mercy, where he later died, police said. The next day, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Lincoln’s death a homicide.

The story ended there — until Saturday, April 19, when a man “that refused to provide his name” told authorities that Barlow was involved in the shooting, police said. He also told police Barlow and his girlfriend were living in Dormont.

“The caller said they … seem to be getting a little worried that someone is going to give them up and they will get caught,” the complaint said.

In May, police said Barlow and his girlfriend spoke with them at county police headquarters in Green Tree.

Barlow told authorities that day he knew Lincoln through a group, a circle of former Pittsburgh Brashear High School students known as the “Mob,” police said.

“I don’t even know where (Lincoln) lives,” Barlow told police, according to the complaint. “I know him through other friends. I know a bunch of people throughout the Pittsburgh area.”

Barlow said he heard about the shooting through the news and Facebook, police said.

Barlow consented to give police a swab with his DNA, police said. A crime lab later determined Barlow’s DNA matched blood left at the crime scene, according to the complaint.

A lab report calculated the probability of randomly selecting an unrelated individual whose DNA profile also matches the DNA profile from the scene is about 1 in 130 duodecillion, the complaint said. That number is 130, followed by 39 zeroes.

The day after the interview, Barlow called police, “said the interview made him very anxious,” and told detectives he was going to visit his mother in Georgia, the complaint said.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested him in Jackson, Ga. in September, police said.

Canofari said that he questioned Barlow during a video meeting following his arrest. The detective played Barlow a black-and-white clip taken from the Ring-style doorbell camera.

“He said, ‘That’s me,’” Canofari testified.

Barlow explained that he started bleeding at the scene after he fell over a fence and got cut near his eye, Canofari said Friday.

The suspect later said he heard robbing Lincoln’s house would be “an easy lick,” or robbery, police said.

The anonymous tipster — whose 412 phone number came from a line police were unable to trace — said the two masked men “went to do a robbery and a person was shot,” Canofari said.

“There wasn’t a lot more,” the detective added.

Authorities said they extradited Barlow from Georgia and took him to Allegheny County Jail. He was arraigned in Pittsburgh on Oct. 10, court records show. A judge denied him bail.

Prosecutors Friday dropped two misdemeanors against Barlow: simple assault and recklessly endangering another person. He remained charged Friday with homicide, burglary, robbery and conspiracy to commit homicide, court records show.

He is set to appear in Common Pleas court on Nov. 24.

A spokeswoman from the Allegheny County Public Defenders Office, which represents Barlow, did not return calls Friday seeking comment.