The news this week that an arrest had been made in her daughter’s 2023 shooting death was a relief for Bruna Vesco Leonard.
For nearly two years, she had been waiting, at times with frustration, for some movement in the case. Now, she knows her daughter Brianna Lartz can be at peace.
“A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders,” Leonard said.
The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday one man had been charged with homicide in connection with the June 9, 2023, fatal shooting at a home on Lowry Avenue that injured four others. Additional charges are forthcoming against a second man whom authorities did not name publicly.
Maleek Dionte Green, 27, of Pittsburgh was arrested Wednesday in North Carolina by the U.S. Marshals, said spokesperson Melanie Jones. He is awaiting extradition.
Lartz was at a friend’s home in Jeannette that evening when gunfire broke out around 9:30 p.m.
In the immediate aftermath, authorities said they wanted to talk to Deshawn Russell, 27. No charges have been filed against him.
Russell is serving a five- to 10-year sentence at a state prison on a weapons violation from a 2022 shooting outside Sail’s Inn in Uniontown, according to court records.
Lartz and Russell have a child together.
Police said in court papers filed against Green that there were text message discussions indicating a drug deal was planned at the Lowry Avenue home. A witness told authorities she saw Green and another man shooting guns inside the house.
Investigators reported finding evidence there and in several neighboring streets. Green was injured in the shooting. He is charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, conspiracy and related offenses. He did not have an attorney listed in online court records.
Lartz lived in Jeannette and was a graduate of Greater Latrobe School District. Not having anyone held responsible for her death has been tough for Leonard.
Now, she’s preparing for potentially years of hearings in the case, but said she plans to attend them all to seek justice for her daughter.
“It just got so frustrating because I had to wait so long,” she said. “I had faith in the justice system.”
