PITTSBURGH (AP) – A man has been sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison in the death of a western Pennsylvania art student who authorities said was killed in an apparent drug deal that involved trading an iPad for heroin.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (https://bit.ly/1IrmmzF ) reports that 21-year-old Shilee Dixson of McKees Rocks was sentenced Monday in Allegheny County Court.
Dixson was convicted in a nonjury trial in October of second-degree murder, robbery, conspiracy and possession of a firearm by a minor in the May 2011 shooting death of 20-year-old Malachi Urbini, an Art Institute student.
Defense attorney Louis Emmi declined comment.
Twenty-three-year-old Taivon Cunningham is awaiting trial in the case.
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Information from: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, https://www.post-gazette.com
Probation for trooper in teen’s pepper spray punishment case
A Fayette County judge accepted Ernest Boatright, 49, of Pittsburgh, into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program on Monday, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (https://bit.ly/1z0kmg7 ) reported. The program does not require defendants to plead guilty and they can petition the court to expunge their record if they complete the probation without incident.
Boatright told investigators he had pepper-sprayed two cats on an enclosed porch. But the boy told investigators that Boatright sprayed the chemical into his room in April 2013, and had sprayed him with the substance before.
“My nose started to run, my eyes started to water, my throat started to hurt,” the boy testified at a preliminary hearing last year. The boy then saw an orange puddle, which investigators say was caused by the pepper spray next to his night stand, he testified.
Defense attorney Matthew Zatko previously argued the charges of endangering the welfare of children and harassment resulted from “bad blood” between the trooper and the boy’s mother, and he said the trooper continues to deny wrongdoing.
“Given the issues that were raised at the preliminary hearing, coupled with my client’s denial throughout of any wrongdoing, the decision was made that the ARD program was a reasonable resolution for all parties involved,” Zatko said Monday.
Boatright had been based at the state police barracks in New Stanton, where troopers patrol much of the western stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Zatko said the 25-year veteran trooper, who has been on unpaid leave since shortly after the charges were filed in November 2013, hopes to return to work soon.
A state police spokeswoman did not immediately comment on Boatright’s employment status.
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Information from: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, https://pghtrib.com