A Westmoreland County jury Thursday convicted a New Kensington woman of helping her cousin avoid capture and disposing of the handgun prosecutors say was used to kill a city police officer.

Jurors deliberated seven hours over two days before finding Lisa Harrington, 33, guilty on four counts of hindering the apprehension of Rahmael Holt, tampering with evidence and a firearms offense.

Holt was convicted last year of first-degree murder for killing New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw and was sentenced to death.

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Harrington slumped over and loudly sobbed as the jury verdict was read in the downtown Greensburg courtroom. Common Pleas Judge Rita Hathaway revoked her $175,000 bond and ordered Harrington jailed as she awaits sentencing.

“I can’t believe it. I’m going to jail for something I didn’t do,” Harrington said as she was led away from the courtroom in handcuffs.

Prosecutors said about an hour after Shaw was gunned down following an attempted traffic stop on Leishman Avenue in November 2017, Harrington drove Holt to his girlfriend’s home in Harrison.

Submitted New Kensington Officer Brian Shaw, 25, was killed in the line of duty on Nov. 17, 2017.  

Before Harrington, four others have been convicted of helping Holt in the aftermath of Shaw’s murder:

• Holt’s mother, Sherry Holt, 49, of Pittsburgh was convicted this year in Allegheny County of hindering her son’s apprehension. She is expected to be sentenced in April.

• Marcel R. Mason, 30, of Pittsburgh was found guilty last year in Allegheny County of a similar charge and is serving a 15- to 30-month prison sentence.

• Lakita Caine, 42, of New Kensington pleaded guilty in 2018 to hindering police from capturing Holt and was sentenced by Hathaway to serve three to seven years in prison.

• Caine’s daughter, 21-year-old Taylor Mitchell, pleaded guilty to the same offense, also in 2018, and was sentenced by Hathaway to serve 11 1/2 to 23 months in jail.

Assistant District Attorney Jim Lazar said Thursday he will seek a prison sentence for Harrington, who is pregnant with her fourth child, that is longer than what Caine received.

“ (Harrington is) the reason we didn’t have a murder weapon (at trial),” Lazar said. “This is the final case that wraps up this matter and finally gives the family closure.”

Defense attorney Adam Gorzelsky said he will review the case before deciding whether Harrington will appeal the verdict.

“It’s disappointing. I think we put a good case in, and the jury was out for a long time,” Gorzelsky said. “It’s not the outcome we were looking for.”

A day after the shooting, Harrington, according to prosecutors, removed the gun from a home where Holt initially fled after shooting Shaw, prosecutors said.

Harrington testified on her own behalf Wednesday and denied any involvement in helping Holt, a man she said was her first cousin but more like a sibling.

Harrington told jurors she never drove Holt anywhere the night of the shooting. She claimed she picked up family members in New Kensington, drove them to her home in Arnold and then went to sleep.

The prosecution presented phone records that appear to show a series of calls between Harrington, Holt’s girlfriend and a phone that investigators said Holt used after the shooting. As an explanation for the phone records, Harrington said other people in her home had access to the phone.

Harrington said deleted text messages between her phone and that of a 15-year-old nephew about the potential disposal of a gun were not related to the police officer’s shooting.

Before the trial, Gorzelsky contended that childhood abuse his client suffered in a basement made her incapable of entering basements, where police said Holt stashed the murder weapon. He said in court documents it would have been impossible for Harrington to enter the basement to retrieve a gun. That theory was not part of the defense’s case during the trial.

Harrington testified that a paper bag brought up from a basement by another family member contained a crack pipe, not a gun.

Gorzelsky on Wednesday characterized the case against Harrington as little more than a string of witnesses who lied to protect themselves from legal troubles.

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