Arnold man found guilty of intimidating witness before his son's cop-killer trial last year

The father of the man sentenced to death for the murder of New Kensington police officer Brian Shaw was convicted Wednesday for the intimidation and retaliation of a potential witness at his son’s trial last year.

After nearly six hours of deliberations, a Westmore­land County jury found Gregory Paul Baucum, 49, formerly of Arnold, guilty of two misdemeanor counts. Baucum was acquitted of one felony witness intimidation charge.

“We believe the verdict does speak for itself,” said defense attorney Matt Schimizzi. “We believe it was an appropriate verdict.”

Baucum, who has been in custody since his arrest in March 2019, will remain incarcerated pending a sentencing hearing that Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears said he will schedule in about a month.

As a result of the convictions, Baucum could be sentenced to a maximum of four years in prison, said Assistant District Attorney Anthony Iannamorelli.

“This, more than any other case, should be considered for the maximum sentence,” Iannamorelli said.

As part of its verdict, the jury found that Baucum did not use force when he threatened a woman who prosecutors said cooperated with police during the investigation of his son, Rahmael Holt, following Shaw’s death in November 2017. That finding downgraded the charges from felony offenses.

Prosecutors contended Gregory Paul Baucum outed a witness after he received court documents from a prior criminal case in which she was identified as a witness against Holt, who was convicted and sentenced to death following his trial last year.

Baucum, according to Iannamorelli, made threats against a former New Kensington woman on social media, labeled her a snitch and published details of her cooperation on the internet.

“He made sure to put the hit out in the street that (she) was a snitch,” Iannamorelli told jurors in his closing argument.

Prosecutors said that months before Holt’s trial, Baucum sought to prevent Tasha Williams from testifying about information that could be used against his son that she learned while incarcerated at the county jail in 2018.

She testified Tuesday that Baucum sent her messages in which he called her a “cheese-eating rat snitch.” He also sent emojis of a block of cheese and a casket. She told jurors she fears for her safety.

Williams did not testify during Holt’s homicide trial in November.

Baucum was the lone witness to testify for the defense during his two-day trial. He conceded he sent Williams massages but claimed he did so as free speech and to alert others in the community about her police cooperation.

“He wanted people to know to look out, she talks to police,” Schimizzi argued.

Baucum was found not guilty in 2018 by a Westmoreland jury of assault and witness intimidation charges. In that case, prosecutors claimed Baucum strangled his then-girlfriend, who he believed cooperated with police to help identify and capture Holt following Shaw’s murder.