Man charged with shooting Parkway West driver in eye
A McKeesport man accused of shooting a motorist in the face last month as both drivers merged onto Interstate 376 in Pittsburgh is in custody.
By PAULA REED WARD
Trib Total Media
A McKeesport man accused of shooting a motorist in the face last month as both drivers merged onto Interstate 376 in Pittsburgh is in custody.
Rashawn Hall, 22, was arrested Aug. 12 and charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and conspiracy. He is being held in Allegheny County Jail without bail.
According to a criminal complaint, Hall was driving a gray Jaguar SUV northbound on Route 51 about 6:43 p.m. July 14 when he approached the on-ramp to the Parkway West. Hall was following the car in front of him, a silver Chevrolet Malibu, “extremely closely.”
A witness told police that Hall cut two cars off, pulled alongside the Malibu and fired four to six shots into the victim’s car.
Pittsburgh police were called to the ramp where they found the victim in the driver’s seat with a gunshot wound to his left eye.
He was taken to UPMC Mercy in critical condition. According to TribLive news partner, WTAE, the victim is a pastor who was in Pittsburgh for work.
Using camera footage from the witness’ car, as well as license plate readers in the area, Pittsburgh police were able track the Jaguar’s movements that day and identify Hall as the owner.
Four days later, Pittsburgh police found the Jaguar backed into a dead-end alley in Marshall-Shadeland.
After getting a warrant for the vehicle, Pittsburgh police Det. Ed Fallert was returning to Fenway Street where the car was located when, the complaint said, he saw Hall in the driver’s seat pulling out. As soon as Hall saw the detective, the complaint said, he took off.
After a short chase, Hall abandoned the vehicle a few blocks away, police said. They found him several minutes later about three blocks from where he left his car and took him into custody.
Inside the vehicle, police said they found a large amount of cash, an iPhone and a small amount of marijuana.
In an interview with police, Hall said he wasn’t driving his vehicle the day of the shooting and that he had been at a cousin’s house in Brookline all day, according to the complaint. He also said no one else took his car, the complaint said.
However, using the phone’s location tracking software, police said they were able to confirm that Hall’s phone was at the location of the shooting at the time it occurred.
