Suspect arrested in South Side Flats shooting

Pittsburgh police have arrested a man in connection with an April 2 shooting on Pittsburgh’s South Side that left another man in critical condition.

Julyan Richards, 25, who was not listed with an address in court records, has been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and tampering with evidence.

Shortly before 1:30 a.m. on April 2, officers were flagged down for a reported shooting on the 2000 block of Sarah Street. They found a man in his mid-20s with a gunshot to the upper body. He was transported to a local hospital.

Police said that Richards approached a witness who was working private security at an East Carson Street bar, saying he had shot someone and wanted to turn himself in. The witness said Richards told him he’d gotten rid of his cell phone as well as the gun used in the shooting, according to court documents.

The witness contacted police, who placed Richards under arrest.

One of the arresting officers recognized Richards, having seen him running up 21st Street from Sarah Street just after the shooting, according to court papers.

A second witness told police they had seen two men, including one they identified as Richards, talking outside of Walker’s Bar on Sarah Street. When the witness left the bar less than a minute later, they saw the victim lying on the ground and bleeding from the chest, and saw the other man headed up Sarah towards 21st Street, according to court papers.

Footage from city cameras in the area showed Richards walking from Sarah Street onto 21st Street, then beginning to run up 21st Street. Additional footage, police said, showed him approaching the witness who eventually called police.

Richards’ phone and clothing he was wearing at the time of the shooting were recovered near train tracks at the top of 16th Street, police said.

Richards was arraigned, denied bail and taken to the Allegheny County Jail. He faces an April 13 preliminary hearing at 8 a.m. in Pittsburgh Municipal Court.