Wilkinsburg Mayor Marita Garrett on Monday posted to Facebook a scathing rebuke of Allegheny County police and prosecutors, calling on law enforcement officials to “recognize their egregious missteps” and “reckless handling” of the investigation into the murders of five adults and an unborn child killed during a 2016 ambush of a backyard cookout.

“Since the beginning, this case has been shrouded with uncertainty, inconsistencies and now unsolved murders that further traumatizes the families and our communities,” Garrett wrote on her Facebook profile. “The Allegheny County Police Department and Allegheny County District Attorney’s office should be held accountable for their lack of oversight and protocol.”

Garrett, now in her second year as mayor after several years as a borough councilwoman, made the post in reaction to Friday’s acquittal of Cheron Shelton of the mass shooting in Wilkinsburg that left six people dead and three others wounded. Garrett could not be reached for comment late Monday.

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In response Monday afternoon to Garrett’s social media post, Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Mike Manko said, “Our sympathies continue to go out to those victimized by this horrendous crime, their families, extended families and friends.”

“We are not sure what officials in Wilkinsburg are trying to communicate, but we understand the sense of their failure to adequately protect their citizens and empower them to stand up against criminal conduct,” Manko said. “That’s why we should be beyond political rhetoric at this point and instead should be focused on formulating solutions.”

Allegheny County Police Superintendent Coleman McDonough said he could not “allow a grossly inaccurate set of allegations against the dedicated men and women of the Allegheny County Police to stand without response.”

“I am disappointed the elected official did not contact me or members of my command staff with any questions or concerns regarding the investigation before accepting one version of events and posting publicly,” McDonough said.

County police refutes claim jail informant was paid to lie

Among specific allegations in Garrett’s post: the claim that prosecutors tried “forcing a witness to lie” in exchange for money.

McDonough refuted the claim, which he dismissed as inaccurate and based on a “one-sided version” put forth by the attorney defending a client facing the death penalty and former jail inmate Kendall Mikell — a “person whose lack of credibility precluded his use as a witness in this matter.”

With a “gag order” lifted, McDonough said he now could respond to the allegations that can be traced to Mikell, previously referred to as “Witness 1” in case filings by Shelton’s defense.

Mikell was never forced or directed to lie, McDonough said.

“Even in a case of this magnitude, for a detective or prosecutor to solicit ‘lies’ from a potential witness not only violates the solemn oaths they are sworn to uphold, but it potentially damages their credibility and that of the criminal justice system to such an extent that it belies all reason,” McDonough said.

According to McDonough, Mikell “came forward of his own accord” while imprisoned at Allegheny County Jail and was “never a paid informant of the Allegheny County Police, despite his assertions to the contrary.” During the vetting process, “we uncovered several issues that led us to disqualify him as an informant,” McDonough said.

McDonough said that officials did, however, give McDonough financial assistance “to help him with relocation” after Mikell “asserted that he was endangered by his cooperation with authorities.”

In court filings unsealed last week, Deputy District Attorney Kevin Chernosky said that Mikell was provided about $1,700 from the DA’s witness relocation fund to find housing after he was released from a halfway house in April 2018. After 10 days, Mikell was arrested, which disqualified him from the program.

McDonough said that those housing payments “were not made in a vacuum but came about after an interactive process involving several law enforcement entities in accordance with long-established protocols.”

The payments were made “after the determination was made that he would not be used as a witness,” McDonough said. “That is a far cry from compensating him to ‘lie … for money,’ ” referencing Garrett’s Facebook post.

Defense attorney Randall McKinney’s motion for a mistrial last week further alleged that at one point, Mikell was placed in a cell directly next to Shelton and prodded by authorities to get information from Shelton.

“At no time did our detectives ever move him or exert any pressure on jail staff to move him into closer proximity to the defendants in this matter,” McDonough said. “Our detectives did not interview Mikell until we confirmed his housing assignment in the jail, as a first step toward corroborating the information he was offering.”

The District Attorney’s Office last week called the set of allegations a “desperate attempt” by defense attorneys to influence the jury.

Cheron Shelton, 33, had faced six counts of murder and the death penalty if convicted of killing Jerry Shelton, 35, Brittany Powell, 27, and Chanetta Powell, 25; their cousin, Tina Shelton, 37; family friend Shada Mahone, 26; and Chanetta Powell’s unborn son, Demetrius. Lamont Powell, John Ellis and Tonjia Cunningham were wounded in the attack. None of those slain were related Cheron Shelton.

“Say their names,” Garrett wrote on Facebook of the victims.

The outcome of the trial “only deepens the fracture of trust in law enforcement at a time when we are dealing with the gun violence epidemic,” Garrett wrote.

“Moving forward, I implore the District Attorney’s office and Allegheny County Police Department to recognize their egregious missteps and take actions to ensure this does not happen again,” she continued. “Lives depend on your actions — we demand better.”

McDonough fired back that “unfair and uncorroborated attacks in any public forum” are “reckless and irresponsible,” and that such social media posts threaten to further corrode trust in police officers who risk their lives every day.

“Despite these attacks, they will continue to serve with honor and integrity, and respond to calls for assistance from every community beleaguered by violent crime,” McDonough said.

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