Pittsburgh man pleads guilty to shooting, killing man over wrong beer

A man who police say shot another man multiple times because he picked up the wrong beer pleaded guilty to one count of third degree murder Thursday.

The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office agreed to withdraw a firearms charge against Musa Ramadhan Muya in exchange for his guilty plea in the case, said Mike Manko, a spokesman for the office.

Emmanuel Boneza, 32, was shot Sept. 18 in a ravine in Avalon.

Muya, 21, of Northview Heights, was charged with homicide and carrying a firearm without a license in connection to the shooting. His sentencing hearing is set for April 29.

A second man charged in connection to the shooting, Salim Hamadi Salim, 21, of Avalon, is set to appear for a non-jury trial before Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski on June 19. He is charged with tampering with physical evidence and a firearms violation.

According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, Salim told police the three men went to a ravine between Oak and West Riverview avenues together and took turns shooting a semi-automatic pistol that Musa had brought. At one point, Salim said Boneza left the ravine to buy beer. Boneza was the only one who was of legal age.

Salim told police that when he came back, Musa became upset with Boneza because he purchased the wrong beer, according to the criminal complaint. Boneza shot the gun two times, handed it to Musa and asked him to reload it. Musa reloaded the gun and then shot Boneza four times, according to the complaint. Boneza then ran out of the ravine toward the intersection of West and South Starr avenues.

Police were called to the intersection of Oak and South Starr avenues shortly before 8 p.m. for a report of a man shot. When they arrived, they found Boneza lying in the street suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken by paramedics to Allegheny General Hospital where he later died, according to police.