Lawyer's alleged disclosure at issue in Arnold homicide case

The lawyer for a Churchill man charged in a fatal shooting in Arnold last summer told a judge that statements made to police by another attorney should not be used as evidence at his upcoming homicide trial.

The trial for Devon Askew, 26, is scheduled to begin Nov. 15. Westmoreland County prosecutors contend Askew shot and killed 34-year-old Richard Hildreth in front of a Woodmont Avenue home on June 28, 2020. According to court records, Askew contended he acted in self-defense to protect his family, as his baby and the child’s mother lived in the home.

Police said they found Hildreth unresponsive on the sidewalk near the home with two gunshot wounds to his torso as they responded to a call from a woman who claimed her former boyfriend would not leave the residence.

Askew told police Hildreth had come to the house to kill him, Jocelynn Ivanco and their child, the complaint said. Askew said he fled the scene because he was on probation and Ivanco had an active protection from abuse order against him.

In court Monday, defense attorney Ryan Tutera said Askew’s former lawyer was present when he was originally questioned by police following the shooting. Askew refused to answer questions and his lawyer improperly disclosed information investigators used when the murder charge was filed last year, according to Tutera.

“My client never made any admissions,” Tutera said. “His lawyer said certain things to police. She talked for him, and he didn’t want to speak to police.”

Tutera said the lawyer’s comments to police violated attorney-client privilege and, as a result, should be barred from evidence at the upcoming trial.

The lawyer’s identity was not disclosed in court and neither Tutera nor Assistant District Attorney Pete Caravello would reveal the attorney’s name after Monday’s pretrial hearing. Tutera has represented Askew since his arrest last year.

Caravello said he’s not convinced the lawyer acted improperly and suggested the attorney served as Askew’s advocate during questioning.

“She gave a version of what occurred,” Caravello said.

Askew has been in custody at the jail without bond since his arrest last July.

In court on Monday, Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio granted a defense request for Askew to have two trials, the first on the homicide count and a weapons offense related to an allegation that as a convicted felon he is not permitted to possess a gun.

A drug possession charge filed after police said they found drugs in the Arnold home will be the subject of a second trial. Caravello conceded in court on Monday the drug charge was unrelated to the fatal shooting.

“In this case, there is no connection between the homicide itself and the drugs other than the drugs were there,” Caravello said.