A Jeannette man told a jurors Wednesday he fired a BB gun and set off a firecracker during an altercation with a neighbor.
Westmoreland County prosecutors contend Dale Shaw used a rifle and fired at least one round that struck a home next door as his neighbor recorded video of the incident.
Shaw, 66, is on trial on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and other offenses in connection with the alleged Dec. 12, 2019, shooting.
Leonard Collins testified Shaw threw a large rock through a window at his Chestnut Street home, and, when he came outside to confront his neighbor, he saw him point then fire a rifle.
“I recorded it because he had done it multiple times,” Collins testified.
Collins was not injured.
Jurors watched a 10-second video Collins said he recorded on his cellphone that appeared to depict Shaw standing near his home across a narrow alley and firing a weapon.
Collins told jurors he and Shaw had been friends for several years before their relationship deteriorated.
“He (Collins) thought I was after his girlfriend,” Shaw testified.
Shaw testified Collins started the altercation and that he fired a BB gun after he was threatened with a gun by his neighbor. He explained a loud bang heard on Collins’ video was from a firecracker Shaw said he set off just before he fired the BB gun.
Shaw’s testimony was at odds with the how his lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Jennifer DeFlitch, described the incident in her opening statement to the jury.
DeFlitch said there was no evidence Shaw fired a weapon. Police found no spent bullets and investigators could not confirm that a hole found near the door of Collins’ home was caused by a rifle shot, she said.
Police officers said they confiscated eight guns from Shaw’s home. No BB gun was found, according to Assistant District Attorney Adam Barr.
Shaw also was charged with resisting arrest. The prosecution contends Shaw fought with police officers and had to be Tasered when they attempted to take him into custody.
Shaw last year was charged in a separate unrelated case with multiple counts of animal cruelty.
According to court records, Shaw pleaded no contest to charges that resulted from a 1997 investigation into allegations related to a dog fighting ring.
Closing arguments in Shaw’s attempted homicide trial are expected to begin Thursday morning.
