Judge rejects appeal from man convicted of killing New Kensington cop

A Westmoreland County judge rejected the appeal of the man sentenced to death for the murder of New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw.

In a 42-page opinion made public Monday, Judge Rita Hathaway said jurors had sufficient evidence to convict Rahmael Sal Holt, 32, of Harrison, Allegheny County, of first-degree murder for the November 2017 fatal shooting in which Shaw was gunned down during a foot chase following an attempted traffic stop.

Shaw was shot three times, once to his left front shoulder and another to the back of his left shoulder that caused deadly injures to his lungs. A third round hit Shaw in the front of his bulletproof vest. Witnesses who testified during the two-week trial in November identified Holt as the killer.

“There can be no serious issue that Officer Shaw was in the performance of his duties, and similarly there can be no doubt that the defendant was aware of Officer Shaw’s status as a law enforcement officer and that he was in the performance of his duties,” Hathaway wrote.

Holt was sentenced to die by lethal injection for murder and received additional sentences of 10 1/2 to 27 years in prison for two weapons offenses.

Prosecutors argued at trial Holt was a convicted felon who was barred from possessing a gun and fled from a vehicle in which he rode in as a passenger to avoid capture during the traffic stop. He fired as many as six shots at Shaw during the foot pursuit and eluded arrest for nearly four days.

Holt did not testify during his trial or sentencing hearing. His lawyers argued there was not enough evidence to convict Holt of murder and testimony that linked him to the fatal shooting was not to be believed.

The judge did not rule on a defense claim in the appeal that the all-white jurors were improperly swayed to convict Holt by the circumstances of the case in that Shaw was a young, white popular police officer and Holt was Black with a Muslim sounding name. The defense, in its appeal, also suggested dozens of white police officers who attended the trial could have prejudiced the jury.

Hathaway said she did not have jurisdiction to rule on that aspect of the appeal. She did note, however, Holt was present when the jury was selected and no claims were raised about its makeup.

In her opinion, the judge acknowledged the courtroom was filled with police officers during the trial but said no one from Holt’s defense team objected at the time.

“Those that may have been police officers were not in uniform or otherwise identifiable as law enforcement officials. The court notes that no one in the courtroom was in uniform, other than the security personnel supplied by the sheriff’s office for the trial,” Hathaway wrote.

Defense attorney Tim Dawson said he had not yet read the judge’s opinion.

“We will review the opinion and file an appeal with the Supreme Court,” Dawson said.