Woman initially released from scene as witness to fatal North Side shooting charged with homicide

A woman who investigators, believing she was a witness, initially released from the scene of a fatal shooting on Pittsburgh’s North Side has now been charged with homicide in connection with the shooting, court records show.

Tylajae Allen, 21, was one of the first people officers encountered Aug. 7 after gunfire erupted on Brighton Place. Investigators wrote in a criminal complaint that at around 9:50 p.m., ShotSpotter detected six bursts of gunshots over 50 seconds — about 55 shots altogether.

The shooting killed 40-year-old Stephone Drayton and injured three others.

As an officer responded to the scene from the North Side’s Zone 1 police station, he noted a woman in a dark shirt and camouflage shorts running across California Avenue from the direction of the shooting.

According to the criminal complaint, the officer saw the woman either fall or take cover in some bushes, which he noted as suspicious. He circled the block and found Allen leaning against a building, “out of breath and visibly shaken.”

He asked Allen if she’d been shot, and she said she’d been shot at. According to the complaint, she said she did not know who was shooting at her, and she’d run from the scene.

“As this female continued to squat against the side of the building with her hands on her knees and out of breath … Officer (Dominic) Bertan believed that this woman was a witness,” according to the complaint.

Allen gave her full name, date of birth and phone number when asked by the officer, investigators wrote, noting that the officer did not have time to verify Allen’s information or story because other officers had indicated there were victims at the shooting scene.

Allen is the second arrest in the shooting.

Andrew Johnson, 25, of Coraopolis, was arrested Wednesday.

Police used footage pieced together from multiple cameras across the North Side and recorded video calls from the Allegheny County Jail to piece together the movements of the shooting suspects before, during and after the shooting.

Left at the scene was a red Hyundai — running, key in the ignition, door ajar — that was crashed into a parked car, according to the criminal complaint against Johnson.

The Hyundai had been shot multiple times, police said.

Surveillance footage from the area showed four people in a Ford Escape jumping out of the vehicle on California Avenue and opening fire toward the scene of the fatality on Brighton Place, according to the complaint. The four took off, and another individual shot at the driver of the Escape as it fled.

Those in the Hyundai were also seen shooting at the group of people gathered near Brighton Place before crashing into a parked car, police wrote, At least one passenger in the Hyundai got out and continued firing toward Brighton Place.

Police later identified the owner of the Escape, who told investigators she had loaned the car to Johnson, who returned it with a shot out window, according to the complaint.

An analysis of a phone number registered to Johnson showed his cell phone was in and around the North Side leading up the shooting before it was shut off or put into the airplane mode. It was turned back on and left the area a minute after the shooting.

Other surveillance footage showed the Ford Escape at a home on Davis Avenue before and after the shooting, according to the complaint, as well as a number of people coming and going during that time.

Police said Allen lives at the Davis Avenue address.

Investigators also used information gleaned in a recording of a video call between Johnson and an individual incarcerated at the Allegheny County Jail.

In one video call the afternoon of the shooting, Johnson shows a black Glock to the individual on the other end of the video call and speaks of having multiple outfits with him so he can change his look to avoid anyone who might be looking for him, according to the complaint. Police said Johnson took the call inside a vehicle they were able to identify as a Ford Escape.

Four days after the shooting, Johnson referenced the fatal shooting in a video call with the same person, according to the criminal complaint. Detectives wrote that Bright Place is a hangout for members of the Brighton Place Crips, which is a rival crew of the Manchester OGs, to which Johnson belongs.

In addition to homicide, Allen is charged with three counts of aggravated assault. She is being held in the Allegheny County Jail without bail. Court records did not list an attorney for Allen as of Saturday afternoon.

Johnson is also charged with homicide and aggravated assault. He was denied bail at a Friday morning arraignment. Court records did not list an attorney.

A preliminary hearing for both is scheduled for Sept 2.