The mother of Rahmael Sal Holt, who was sentenced to death last year for shooting and killing New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw, was found guilty Thursday in Allegheny County of helping her son elude police after the 2017 shooting.
In a nonjury trial, Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski found Sherry Holt, 49, of Pittsburgh guilty of hindering apprehension in the days after her son shot and killed Shaw after an attempted traffic stop on Nov. 17, 2017.
Sentencing is set for 8:30 a.m. April 23.
On Nov. 14, a Westmoreland County jury sentenced Rahmael Holt, 31, to death after deliberating for less than three hours. Two days earlier, the same jury had convicted him of killing Shaw on Leishman Avenue in New Kensington.
He was arrested after a four-day manhunt.
During Thursday’s trial, Sasinoski heard testimony from three witnesses — Rick Manning of the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department, Westmoreland County Detective Ray Dupilka and an officer with the U.S. Marshal’s office.
Rahmael Holt’s cousin, Marcel R. Mason, 30, of Pittsburgh, also was convicted of a hindering charge by Sasinoski on March 7 and was sentenced to serve 15 to 30 months in prison.
Mason’s girlfriend, Aysa R. Benson, 32, also of Pittsburgh, and Sherry Holt were arrested by the sheriff’s department for allegedly providing police with false information about Holt’s whereabouts after the killing. Benson is expected to go to trial later this year.
Under state law, the maximum penalty Sherry Holt could receive after a conviction of a third-degree felony is seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine. Court records indicate she remains free on $100,000 bail posted after her arrest.
