Rahmael Holt's cousin guilty of hindering arrest after shooting of New Kensington officer

A 30-year-old Duquesne man accused of helping Rahmael Sal Holt escape arrest following the November 2017 shooting death of a New Kensington police officer was convicted Thursday of hindering apprehension in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski found Holt’s cousin, Marcel R. Mason, guilty of the third-degree felony following a one-day non-jury trial, according to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office.

Holt, 30, is scheduled to go on trial in Westmoreland County in August for first-degree murder in the killing of officer Brian Shaw. Shaw was gunned down Nov. 17, 2017, following a traffic stop on Leishman Avenue in New Kensington.

Holt was arrested and charged with Shaw’s murder after a four-day manhunt following the shooting.

Mason, Mason’s girlfriend, Aysa R. Benson, 31, and Holt’s mother, Sherry Holt, 48, both of Pittsburgh, were arrested by the county sheriff’s department for allegedly providing police false information about Holt’s whereabouts after the shooting.

Benson and Sherry Holt are both tentatively scheduled for trial June 27, according to online dockets.

After convicting Mason, Sasinoski revoked Mason’s nominal bond and ordered him held in the county jail on $100,000 bail pending sentencing June 4.

Under state law, the maximum penalty he could receive is up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

Westmoreland County prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty against Holt.