A North Versailles woman claims a Westmoreland County jury reached the wrong verdict when it convicted her last year of the attempted murder of her Penn Township roommate.
In an appeal filed this week, the lawyer for Leah Gillis said jurors failed to adequately consider testimony that suggested the gun used in the Aug. 2, 2022, shooting was damaged and misfired.
Following a two-day trial, Gillis, 36, was found guilty of attempted murder, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. Prosecutors said Gillis went into a jealous rage after she learned her roommate had started a romantic relationship with another woman and fired one round at him from a century-old shotgun. Roommate Erik Allison, 35, of Delmont, suffered a gunshot wound to the throat.
At trial, he maintained he and Gillis were not romantically involved prior to the shooting.
Gillis was sentenced last month to serve eight to 16 years in prison.
“The evidence in the trial suggested the firearm used in the shooting malfunctioned repeatedly, including in the courtroom while the government’s expert was demonstrating its functionality,” according to the appeal filed by defense attorney Brian Aston.
State police expert ballistics expert Matthew Pergar testified at trial that the gun routinely misfired when dropped or struck. During a demonstration in front of the jury about how the gun is fired, the weapon malfunctioned without having its trigger pulled, Aston said.
“The malfunction caused the jury to choose between two equally plausible scenarios, one where the defendant intentionally fired it and the other where it accidentally discharged, as she stated in her police interviews,” Aston wrote in the appeal.
Aston argued that malfunction negated the prosecution’s theory that Gillis intended to kill her roommate and the jury verdict was against the weight of the evidence presented against her at trial.
