Belle Vernon man held for court on murder charge in New Year's Day shooting

Rostraver District Judge Charles Christner cited testimony from Anthony Hairston’s girlfriend Monday when he held the Belle Vernon man for court on a first-degree murder charge stemming from a fatal New Year’s Day shooting in Rostraver Township.

Township police say Hairston, 26, fired a gun that fatally wounded 59-year-old Holly B. Vadella of Rostraver as he drove past her vehicle while both were headed north on Rostraver Road early on Jan. 1.

Hairston’s girlfriend, Shaquala Poole, 30, who has a Uniontown mailing address, spoke faintly while testifying at his preliminary hearing. She said Hairston was driving her white Chevy SUV, she was in the front passenger seat and two others were seated in the back, as they headed from Hairston’s home to a bar.

Poole, who waived her right to a hearing on charges including hindering the investigation of the shooting and tampering with evidence, initially testified she couldn’t remember details of that early New Year’s Day drive. After further questioning by Assistant District Attorney Anthony Iannamorelli, she said she saw another car that “we were trying to go around.”

“My window went down.” Poole said, but she indicated she hadn’t opened it. “I heard two loud bangs and then we kept driving,” she said, testifying that the bangs came from her left side and were “pretty loud.”

County Detective Richard Kranitz, who assisted township police in the investigation, testified that surveillance video obtained from at least two residential cameras along Rostraver Road showed Vadella’s red SUV being followed by a white SUV, which police say was the one Hairston drove.

After the cars passed out of view in one of the videos, Kranitz said, sounds captured by the camera included “a vehicle engine revving and two loud bangs consistent with gunshots.” He said the camera captured that footage shortly after 12:30 a.m. and estimated it was several hundred yards away from the site where later that morning Vadella’s car was found partially off the road.

Township Patrolman Brian Dove testified he was on patrol after 1:30 a.m. when he discovered Vadella slumped in her car with blood on her left shoulder and her dog seated beside her. Dove said he and a fellow officer determined Vadella was dead.

He said there was damage to the glass in the driver’s side window and to the nearby side mirror.

Under cross-examination by Hairston’s attorney, Anne Marie Mancuso, Kranitz said the damage was “consistent with a bullet that had been fired into the mirror.” But, he said, “I can’t say if it was a bullet hole.”

Township Detective Kerry August said lab results were pending for what appeared to be a bullet fragment found near the mirror.

Kranitz read from Vadella’s autopsy report, prepared by Cyril Wecht and Pathology Associates, including an opinion that her death resulted from a gunshot wound to the left upper chest. The report noted a 9mm bullet was recovered.

County Detective Ray Dupilka, who was conducting surveillance of Hairston’s home, testified he was present on Jan. 2 when state police apprehended Hairston in a traffic stop as the suspect was driving the Chevy SUV, attempting to head east on Interstate 70.

Returning to continue surveillance at the Hairston residence, Dupilka said he and fellow law officers stopped Poole and some children who were with her as she approached a vehicle while carrying a duffle bag and a paper bag. He said they found a gun and a baggie of cocaine in the bag, after which Poole allowed them in the home.

Dupilka testified items the officers discovered included a Glock 9mm pistol, powder cocaine, a digital scale, firearm components and ammunition.

Poole testified she placed the gun and drugs in the bag because Hairston “was pulled over” and “he asked me.” She said she took the gun from a drawer in Hairston’s bedroom but said she hadn’t seen the weapon earlier in her SUV.

Poole is additionally charged with possession with intent to deliver drugs.

Prosecutors added two drug-related counts and one count each of tampering with evidence and conspiracy to commit tampering to the charges filed against Hairston. He also was held for court on two firearms charges and a charge of driving with a blood alcohol content of .02% or more with a suspended license.

Mancuso entered a not guilty plea for Hairston and argued that prosecutors had not provided sufficient evidence to link him with the shooting or with the drugs. She protested that the surveillance video had not been provided to the defense and that it wasn’t enough to identify the white SUV as the one Hairston had driven since the camera didn’t capture an image of the license plate.

“It sounded like (Poole) didn’t want to tell a lot, but the little that she did say was enough,” Christner said. “The window is down, and she didn’t put it down. Shots were fired and it came from the left.”

Authorities said Vadella was shot while driving home after spending New Year’s Eve at her mother’s home in Washington Township, Fayette County.

After the hearing, Hairston was returned to the Westmoreland County Jail. Poole remains free on unsecured $50,000 bail. They face formal arraignment July 6 in Westmoreland County Court.