Jeannette man convicted of first-degree murder, jury rejects self-defense claim

A Jeannette man on Thursday was convicted of first-degree murder for killing his friend, who police say was gunned down on a city street two years ago.

After four days of testimony and nearly four hours of deliberations, a Westmoreland County jury rejected a defense argument that Stuart Ali was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed 43-year-old Marcus Davis in the early hours of April 15, 2021, in Jeannette.

Ali, 47, claimed he feared for his safety when he repeatedly fired a semi-automatic handgun at Davis. Prosecutors say Davis was shot 10 times: once in the back of his neck and another nine shots in his left side as he lay on the ground, wounded.

“We are all entitled to defend ourselves, and so would (Ali) if what happened was anything like he said. The evidence doesn’t say that,” said Assistant District Attorney Jim Lazar in his closing argument to the jury.

The prosecution said Ali acted in cold blood when he pointed the gun at Davis after the two men got out of a vehicle that was stopped in the intersection at Gaskill Avenue and North Seventh Street.

The two men, along with Ali’s then 20-year-old son, spent the evening together at two Greensburg bars. Witnesses testified the group met up with a Greensburg couple at one of the taverns and drove them to Jeannette in Ali’s car to continue their night out.

The prosecution argued Ali struck a deal to have sex with the woman and for Davis to facilitate a $300 purchase of cocaine for her boyfriend.

Lazar told jurors Ali became upset with Davis’ plan to renege on turning over the purchased drugs, a plot that threatened Ali’s intended sexual liaison. Witnesses — including the Greensburg couple and Ali’s son, who rode in the back of the car — testified the fight between Ali and Davis intensified as they drove through Jeannette.

Ali claimed Davis punched him in the face as he drove. Ali testified the men confronted each other outside the car and Davis attempted to pull a gun from his waistband. Ali said he disarmed Davis and fired multiple shots after his friend lunged at him.

Lazar argued Ali’s story was untrue, that Davis was initially shot in the back and that the killing was planned as a way for Ali to prove his manhood to his son.

“Mr Ali wanted to show him how to be a man. This is what a man does, and he wasn’t going to be disrespected again,” Lazar said.

Ali’s testimony was in contrast to his son’s version of the events. Taqua Ali, now 22, told jurors he never saw Davis with a gun and that his father extended his arm, pointed the weapon and that he heard shots after Davis suggested Stuart Ali would not pull the trigger.

Neither the gun nor the yellow jacket Ali wore at the time of the shooting were recovered.

Ali said he left the gun at the shooting scene and confirmed the prosecution’s allegation that he changed clothes before fleeing to Uniontown after the killing.

Assistant Public Defender Jim Robinson argued Ali’s story proved Davis’ death was a justifiable shooting.

“In the last few years, with the pandemic, every time you watch the news, there is a mass shooting or a senseless shooting. Sometimes, there is no choice, and, when you have no choice, sometimes there has to be self-defense,” Robinson argued.

“Mr. Ali got into a fight with a person who had a gun. The gun was pointed at Mr. Ali by the decedent, and Mr. Ali was able to the get the gun after a scuffle. And, when he took a leap forward, he fired the weapon,” Robinson said.

In addition to the murder charge, jurors also convicted Ali of illegal possession of a firearm.

As a result of the first-degree murder conviction, Ali faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Judge Christopher Feliciani will hold a sentencing hearing in about three months.