Nicole Louise Moore doubled over and let out a cry of joy as a Westmoreland County jury acquitted her Wednesday of allegations that she drove over and severely injured a woman two years ago in a Scottdale parking lot.

Following two days of testimony and more than two hours of jury deliberations, Moore, 28, of Mt. Pleasant was found not guilty of aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of a crash.

Prosecutors claimed Moore, in a fit of rage on April 11, 2022, drove over a woman after an altercation that turned violent and, according to witnesses, involved a baseball bat and bricks.

Police said Tiara Stout, formerly of Scottdale, suffered multiple broken bones and a fractured pelvis that left her unable to walk for three months as a result of being struck by Moore’s car as Moore drove away from the parking lot.

Authorities said the women fought after Stout confronted Moore over concerns that she left a 3-year-old child alone in a parked vehicle at a Pittsburgh Street apartment complex.

Stout, who is Black, suggested outside the courtroom that race played a factor in the verdict rendered by the all-white jury in the case of a white defendant.

“I think it is crazy they found her not guilty of running over someone. I feel it was whitewashed and there was money involved,” Stout said. “I will see her in the street.”

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears found Moore guilty of a summary traffic offense for reckless driving.

Moore has been in jail sporadically since her arrest and had her bond revoked last spring after failing to appear for a previous court hearing. She was expected to be released from custody Wednesday night.

Throughout the trial, she maintained she acted out of fear and claimed her actions were in self-defense.

Defense attorney Ken Noga, in his closing argument to the jury, said Moore acted under duress when she drove over Stout.

“She had limited options, and she was trying to get away,” Noga said. “It is justified based on Ms. Stout’s actions.”

Witnesses testified the dispute between the women started when Stout attempted to take video of a child in Moore’s vehicle. Stout claimed she was concerned about the child’s welfare.

Moore said she attempted to move away from the fight when she was kicked by Stout and slammed into her car door. In response, she said, she retrieved a baseball bat and swung several times to create distance between the women. Stout claimed she was hit at least twice by the bat and responded by throwing a brick toward Moore.

Moore claimed Stout threw two or three bricks, including one that struck Moore’s vehicle as she attempted to leave the scene.

Assistant District Attorney Steven Reddy argued a video, played for jurors during the trial, showed Moore initially backed out of her parking spot but then immediately accelerated forward and ran over Stout, who was in front of the vehicle in a grassy area.

Moore then backed up and again drove over Stout and a railroad tie, he said, before she fled the scene.

“This is not duress. Her explanation is simply ridiculous,” Reddy said. “It wasn’t a distraught lady but a psychotic woman putting the life of herself and her child at risk.”

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