Men get federal prison for helping destroy Pittsburgh police car during George Floyd protests

Two men accused of conspiring to light a Pittsburgh police car on fire during protests last year over the death of George Floyd are going to federal prison.

Da’Jon Lengyel, 24, of McKees Rocks, was ordered to serve 27 months, while Christopher West, 36, will serve four years. They both pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder for their roles in the Downtown riot on May 30, 2020.

Their criminal histories accounted for the difference in their sentences, handed down Friday by U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan.

During the sentencing hearings, Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaun Sweeney played a five-minute compilation video showing the destruction of Pittsburgh police Unit No. 3212 during the afternoon riot.

Detective John Baker testified that a large group of protesters had moved peacefully through Downtown starting about 2 p.m. that afternoon. However, as the group got to PPG Paints Arena at Sixth and Forbes avenues, the tenor of the march changed.

Brian Bartels, 21, of Shaler, was the first to damage the car parked on Centre Avenue — spray-painting it and breaking a window. But soon, others joined in, including Lengyel and West, who climbed onto the roof of the vehicle, jumping up and down on it.

They then joined others in attempting to set it on fire. After a still-unidentified person lit it, both West and Lengyel added pieces of cardboard and crumpled paper to fuel the blaze. The car was destroyed.

During West’s sentencing hearing, Alyssa Catalano, a volunteer with the National Lawyers Guild who was at the protests that day, testified to befriending West since his incarceration on the charges against him.

She said he is kind and considerate, passionate about social justice and a voracious reader of nonfiction.

West, who has previous addresses in Brookline and Mount Oliver, is ambitious and hopes to some day work with a nonprofit, she said.

“I’ve been supremely impressed with the man I’ve gotten to know,” Catalano said.

After watching the video, she said she finds it hard to believe that West should serve any more time in jail than he already has.

Defense attorney Frank Walker told Ranjan that the issue to consider in sentencing is what punishment is sufficient but not greater than necessary.

Because West has a lengthy criminal history — including a conviction for involuntary manslaughter for the death of his best friend 17 years ago — his recommended sentencing guidelines were much higher than Lengyel or Bartels.

Walker argued that West already served his time for his past crimes.

“I believe he has potential,” Walker said. “I believe he has the ability to be rehabilitated.”

Sweeney told the court that West has consistently broken the law since 2003, including charges of resisting arrest, receiving stolen property and assault.

Bartels, Sweeney said, was 20 years old at the time of the protest and had no prior criminal history. Bartels pleaded guilty in September and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab to serve one day in custody to be followed by six months in a halfway house.

Both Walker and Lengyel’s defense attorney, Marty Dietz, argued that the time their clients have served pre-trial at Allegheny County Jail ought to convince the judge to show leniency.

They called it hard time — especially given the lock-down conditions because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

West, who still faces charges in state court over allegations he took a KDKA photographer’s camera during the protest, spoke at length to the court, admitting his wrongdoing during the protest.

“I know what I did was wrong, and I want to serve punishment for it,” he said. “It was impulsive. I followed the crowd. I should have been a leader, not a follower.”

West told Ranjan he regretted letting his emotions take over that day.

“That car never hurt me. Pittsburgh police have never hurt me.”

He said he believed his viewpoint on life has now changed. West told the court he hopes to serve as a role model for young people, to “tell people not to start down the road.”

Ranjan, who urged West to be a positive role model in prison, told West he believed him to be sincere.

“I have no doubt you are being genuine and remorseful, but I can’t ignore a pattern of criminal history,” the judge said.

Although he acknowledged that West got caught up in the moment, Ranjan also noted that there were hundreds, if not thousands of other people at the protest, but only four who destroyed the police car.

“There were opportunities all along the way to just walk away,” Ranjan said. “This was a significant protest that had significant meaning for a lot of people who participated in it.”

The defendants’ actions, the judge said, took “away from First Amendment rights and the message meant to be conveyed by all the people there.”