A New Kensington woman awaiting a potentially long prison sentence was released from custody on Friday to ensure the safety of her unborn child amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Lisa Harrington, 33, was being held without bond after being convicted of felony offenses for helping her cousin evade capture in the aftermath of the 2017 murder of New Kensington police officer Brian Shaw. Prosecutors said Harrington drove Rahmael Holt out of town and then disposed of the suspected murder weapon. Harrington denied the accusations at trial.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rita Hathaway, following a court hearing Friday in which Harrington appeared via video, said she will be allowed to live in her New Kensington home with her husband and three children. She will remain there on house arrest until six weeks after she undergoes a C-section in June for the birth of her child, the judge said.

“I would feel jail is a safe environment but for your high-risk pregnancy. There is another person involved here,” Hathaway said.

A jury in March convicted Harrington of four counts of hindering the apprehension of Holt, tampering with evidence and a firearms offense. Prosecutors said they will ask Harrington be sentenced to serve multiple years in prison, in line with another defendant who was convicted of similar offenses.

Holt, 31, of Harrison, was convicted last year of first-degree murder and sentenced to death by lethal injection. Prosecutors said Shaw was shot as he pursued Holt on foot following a traffic stop on Leishman Avenue.

Defense attorney Adam Gorzelsky on Friday said Harrington, since being jailed last month, has been diagnosed with the flu, hospitalized with pneumonia and suffers from gestational diabetes.

Gorzelsky said that while no inmates or staff at the county jail have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, there is still a risk for a spread of the disease in the facility.

“Individuals with pre-existing conditions are most at risk, specifically in a situation when they are with a lot of people,” Gorzelsky said.

Assistant District Attorney Jim Lazar argued that Harrington and her unborn child were safer in jail than at home. Lazar outlined numerous safety precautions enacted by jail staff including quarantine of all new inmates for 14 days, suspension of group activities, a requirement that all facility staff wear masks and additional cleaning.

Lazar said Harrington at home might be exposed to alcohol and tobacco use, both situations that could endanger her unborn baby.

“This (jail) is probably right now the safest place for her,” Lazar said.

The judge ordered Harrington to wear a bracelet that will track her location and to undergo weekly random drug tests. Her sentencing hearing will be scheduled six weeks after the birth of her child.

“I don’t know what the sentence will be, but it will involve incarceration,” Hathaway said.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)