by Rob Taylor Jr., Courier Staff Writer
Cheron Shelton, the 33-year-old father of two who ended up as the only person on trial for the shooting deaths of five adults and an unborn baby in Wilkinsburg in 2016, was found not guilty on all counts by an Allegheny County jury, Feb. 14.
Understandably, there were contrasting reactions as the not guilty verdict was read by the jury foreman around 11:35 a.m. For Cheron Shelton’s family, tears of relief. For the family members of the shooting victims, tears of disbelief.
The jury deliberated three and a half days before arriving with a verdict. As more time passed without a verdict, Shelton’s defense attorneys motioned to Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski to throw out the death penalty sought by the prosecution. They argued that a death penalty sentence shouldn’t be considered if a jury is taking what they considered to be an elongated period of time to reach a verdict.
Allegheny County prosecutors were seeking the death penalty in the event of a first-degree murder conviction.
But in the end, there was no conviction, nearly four years after the March 9, 2016, shooting deaths of Brittany Powell, Jerry Michael Shelton, Chanetta Powell (and her unborn child), Tina Shelton and Shada Mahone. Three others were wounded in the attack, but survived.
“It seemed to me that Mr. Shelton was a suspect early on without much evidence to corroborate that, and they narrowed in and focused in on him without following any other leads, and I think they did that to their detriment,” said lead defense attorney Randall McKinney to reporters after the verdict.
McKinney said that as the verdict was read, Cheron Shelton “immediately shed tears. He has two young children who he’s been kept away from for approximately four years.”
Prior to the start of the trial, Judge Borkowski removed 31-year-old Homewood resident Robert Thomas as a co-defendant in the case. There just was not enough evidence by the prosecution to proceed with the murder charges against Thomas, the judge determined.
That left Cheron Shelton as the only defendant, and the prosecution left to prove to a jury of 12 beyond a reasonable doubt that Shelton committed the murders in the ambush-style killing during a backyard cookout in Wilkinsburg.
Prosecutors in the case had to rely primarily on circumstantial evidence—evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact—rather than direct evidence. Prosecutors didn’t have direct evidence that linked Cheron Shelton to the scene of the crime that night, or witnesses that said they saw him at the scene that night. And they had no murder weapons.
But Deputy District Attorney Kevin Chenosky, during closing arguments on Monday, Feb. 7, directed the jury to “add” up all the evidence his side presented. “It’s not innocence,” he said. That evidence included surveillance video, certain timelines, a license plate from a car near the scene that led to Cheron Shelton’s mother and sister, and video of Cheron Shelton making a motion as if he were firing a gun while he spoke to his father during a jailhouse visit.
But McKinney, in his closing argument, told the jury that Cheron Shelton was speaking in person with a sister of Lamont Powell just hours before the murders, and was in no way the “menace” that the prosecution tried to portray him.
Lamont Powell is identified as the alleged target of the ambush shooting, as prosecutors said that Cheron Shelton blamed Lamont Powell for killing his best friend in 2013. Lamont Powell was shot four times that night, but survived.
McKinney hammered the notion to the jury that the prosecution did not prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” Cheron Shelton’s guilt. And in that case, you must acquit, McKinney implied.
When the case was handed to the jury for deliberations, McKinney said he felt “confident” that the jury would find Cheron Shelton not guilty. But as the deliberations continued for days, he told reporters he thought there could be a hung jury, which would have resulted in a mistrial.
“He was ready either way,” defense attorney Wendy Williams told reporters about Cheron Shelton in the moments just before the verdict. After the not guilty verdict, she said Cheron Shelton asked her if he was allowed to cry, and she said he could.
Three hours after the verdict, District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. released a statement on the verdict: “I would first like to thank the members of this jury who clearly put a good deal of thought and consideration into their final decision. I would also like to thank the friends and family members of the victims for the dignity they have shown in the face of unspeakable loss and heartache. It is very difficult for the police and my office to investigate and prosecute crimes when the number of witnesses is limited. That said, the members of law enforcement in this county and the members of my office will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute all criminal activity that takes place. We owe that much to victims and to public safety generally.”
Cheron Shelton remains in jail on other drug and gun charges unrelated to the Wilkinsburg shooting.
(ABOUT THE TOP PHOTO: THE WILKINSBURG MASS SHOOTING VICTIMS – Photo graphic: KDKA-TV)
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