Five days before Christian Bey was arrested in connection with the July 14, 2019, fatal shooting of off-duty Pittsburgh police Officer Calvin Hall, he was pulled over in a traffic stop.

Homicide detectives had developed Bey as a suspect and put out a notice for patrol officers in the area to be on the lookout for him and his black Dodge Durango, which had been parked in the rear of the house near the shooting that night on Monticello Street in Homewood.

According to police body camera video played at a hearing on Tuesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, Bey was cooperative with officers during the traffic stop — chatting with them, talking about his infant daughter and providing them information from his cellphone to contact his alleged alibi for the time of the shooting.

Bey’s defense attorneys now want those statements — and evidence obtained from his cellphone and Facebook page — suppressed.

Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski has not yet ruled on the motions, and additional argument is scheduled for Nov. 1. The trial is expected to begin with jury selection on Feb. 28, with opening statements slated for two weeks later.

Bey was charged through the county grand jury with criminal homicide and firearms counts.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Hall, 36, died on July 17, 2019, from wounds he sustained in the early morning July 14 shooting.

He had been attending a block party the night of July 13 on Monticello Street and visiting with family members. According to the criminal complaint, when Hall tried to leave, an intoxicated woman tried to stop him, sitting down in the middle of the road to block him.

The complaint said Hall got out of his vehicle and moved her. He was then seen arguing with Bey, before leaving.

However, police said that a witness called Hall and asked him to come back as there was an argument between several women, including Bey’s mother, Crystal Roberson. Witnesses told police Hall returned, asked the women what was going on, and then walked away. He went back again, tried to apologize to the women, and then was shot, the complaint said.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Pittsburgh homicide Det. Edward Fallert testified that investigators developed Bey as a possible suspect based on video surveillance obtained from the area around the scene and witness statements.

“At that time, I wanted to talk to Christian Bey,” he said.

After 11 p.m. on July 17, 2019, patrol officers spotted Bey in his Dodge Durango and pulled him over. His wife and 9-month-old daughter were with him.

The initial video played in court shows officers — at least one with his gun drawn — demanding Bey step out of his car.

He was handcuffed and put in the back of a patrol car. Once he was detained, both Bey and the officers he was with spoke amiably.

Then, about 22 minutes later, Fallert arrived on scene to talk to him.

Although the audio on the body cam video is difficult to make out, Fallert can be heard reciting Bey’s Miranda warnings.

“He was cooperative and agreed to talk,” Fallert told the court.

The detective testified that Bey told him he left the party on Monticello Street that night prior to the shooting. Bey claimed he was picked up by a man named James, and the two of them went to an after-hours club in Homewood for drinks.

James then dropped Bey off, he said. Bey claimed he heard about the shooting the next day.

As Fallert questioned Bey in the back of the police car, he testified, he asked for James’ last name and phone number. Bey said he didn’t know the name, and the number was stored in his phone, which was still in his vehicle.

At the end of the interview, Fallert said, he removed Bey’s handcuffs, walked with him back to the SUV and asked Bey to unlock his phone and provide James’ number, which he did.

Fallert said he did not take Bey’s phone at the time.

“I didn’t have a search warrant,” the detective said.

Bey was arrested in the shooting on July 22, 2019.

The defense is attempting to suppress Bey’s statements, alleging that Fallert did not properly advise Bey of his Miranda rights during the traffic stop. The parties agreed at the end of Tuesday’s hearing that the prosecution would attempt to obtain an audio recording taken from inside the patrol car where Bey was questioned to better hear what occurred.

Bey has also filed a motion seeking to limit the number of police officers in uniform in the courtroom during trial. Farrell argued to the court that a large number of officers, particularly in uniform, could be considered to be intimidating by jurors or could influence their decision-making.

Sasinoski said he was disinclined to ban officers from the courtroom, but also said, “I’m not insensitive to what your concerns are.”

The judge said he could reconsider the issue at trial if it comes up.

Bey’s defense attorneys are also seeking to suppress evidence taken from his Facebook page, alleging there was not adequate probable cause to obtain a search warrant for that or his cellphone. They have, additionally, challenged the constitutionality of the death penalty, alleging that it is inappropriately applied in Allegheny County.

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