Attempted homicide charges dropped in BB gun shooting case in Pittsburgh

A Pittsburgh district judge on Wednesday dropped attempted homicide charges against four city teens accused of shooting an unconscious man with a BB gun multiple times as he was lying in a Downtown alley in late November.

The man, identified as Christopher Gaylor, 50, of Cadiz, Ohio, later died of unknown causes.

The remaining charges stand for now against Karmelo Harshey, 18, Isaiah Johnson, 16, Desmond Robinson, 15, and Lee Wilson, 16. They include counts of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and a weapons charge, according to court filings. The three juveniles are being tried as adults, police have said.

Robinson, who remains in Allegheny County Jail, appeared before District Judge James Hanley and a crowd of family and friends during Wednesday afternoon’s preliminary hearing in a slightly wrinkled tan jumpsuit with a thermal shirt underneath it. Johnson, who was released from the county jail on bail Monday, wore a black sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers. Both spoke to Hanley and their attorneys in hushed tones.

Harshey was not present, and an attorney representing Wilson said Wilson could not attend because he was in isolation.

All four waived the right to a preliminary hearing through their attorneys.

Jeanne Emoff of the Allegheny County Public Defender’s Office said her client, Robinson, has pleaded not guilty and her office will be “conducting a full investigation” into what happened.

Attorneys for the remaining three teens, as well as several family members, declined to comment on the case Wednesday.

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• 4 Pittsburgh teens used BB gun to shoot unconscious man who later died, police say

A criminal complaint filed in the case said Pittsburgh police officers responded to Downtown’s Coffey Way just before 1:30 a.m. Nov. 29 and found an unconscious Gaylor lying on the sidewalk. Medics took Gaylor to UPMC Presbyterian in Oakland in critical condition. He died Dec. 1.

Allegheny County spokeswoman Amie Downs said Wednesday that Gaylor’s cause and manner of death have not been released.

Doctors said Gaylor had hypothermia and police suspected he might have overdosed on an unknown substance, the complaint said. Further tests showed he possibly had been shot by a BB gun or birdshot round. Gaylor had injuries to his right jaw, right lip and right eyebrow, and the medical examiner found four BB rounds in his face and neck area during an autopsy, the complaint said.

Pittsburgh police detectives later found a video that showed the teens shooting a man on Coffey Way numerous times with BB guns for approximately five minutes, police said. The young men passed a BB gun to each other and changed the cartridges several times while shooting Gaylor.