The man charged in the murder of a popular Lower Burrell bar owner is competent to stand trial.

The decision by a Westmoreland County judge ends nearly 16 months of uncertainty regarding the prosecution of the case.

Prosecutors contend Nathan Salem, 47, of Lower Burrell shot and killed David “Mogie” Magill on Dec. 21, 2023, outside Mogie’s Irish Pub on Leechburg Road. Salem was charged with criminal homicide and first-degree murder, but his case had been on hold since he was declared incompetent in September 2024.

Dr. Matthew Lang, a forensic psychiatrist at Torrance State Hospital, where Salem has been confined, testified that Salem’s condition has dramatically improved over the past year. Lang stated Salem is now able to understand the criminal case against him and assist his lawyer in his defense.

Lang told the judge that Salem was diagnosed with mental health issues including bipolar disorder, a history of grandiosity and psychosis in which he imagined he was the subject of conspiracies. Salem’s condition worsened following his arrest and initial jailing but improved during his 16-month stay at Torrance, Lang testified.

As a result, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani ruled Salem’s case can move forward, and he tentatively scheduled the trial to begin in June.

The judge ordered Salem to remain at Torrance for the next two months, as recommended by doctors, to ensure there is no deterioration of his mental health. However, the judge warned that Salem then will be returned to the county jail to be held without bond as he awaits trial.

Defense attorney Dan Joseph expressed concern that Salem could backslide into incompetency at the jail.

“He should remain in Torrance. That’s the best place for him to be,” Joseph said. “The jail is clearly not equipped to handle his mental health problems.”

Assistant District Attorney Jim Lazar did not object to briefly extending Salem’s stay at the mental health hospital.

“He doesn’t get to stay indefinitely at Torrance. The case should move expeditiously,” Lazar said. “He is alleged to be guilty of first-degree murder, and he belongs in a prison cell for the rest of his life.”

During a preliminary hearing in early 2024, witnesses testified Salem was in a truck on Wildlife Lodge Road, adjacent to the pub’s parking lot, and shot at Magill, 64, as he got out of his vehicle.

Joseph said he anticipates a mental health defense at trial, but as of Tuesday, he was not prepared to say whether that includes asking that Salem be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Salem faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Joseph noted he will ask the judge to bar statements Salem made to police after his arrest from evidence, claiming authorities ignored his request for a lawyer.

According to court records and pretrial hearing testimony, Salem confessed to shooting Magill. Police said Salem claimed he shot Magill because he believed “he was a drug-dealing pedophile.”

Magill’s family and friends have vehemently disputed that claim.

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