The prosecution yesterday presented a jailhouse informant who said Andra Crisswalle bragged that he "took care" of Thomas Mitchell, one of three people killed in an ambush more than two years ago at a restaurant in Homewood.
The witness, Joseph Vinansky, was the last of 30 called by Assistant District Attorney Mark Tranquilli in the case against Crisswalle, 30, and William Thompson, 34, both of Homewood.
The two are charged with the Jan. 25, 2002, shooting that Tranquilli and police called an execution of Mitchell, 31. Two other patrons at Mr. Tommy's Sandwich Shop on North Homewood Avenue near Frankstown Avenue also were killed: 8-year-old Taylor Coles and her father, Parrish Freeman, 35. Taylor's mother, Terri Coles, was wounded in the shoulder.
In calling Vinansky to the stand, Tranquilli concluded the prosecution's case in which 160 exhibits were presented over two weeks.
Vinansky, 27, of Blawnox, testified that last January and February, he was on the same pod as Crisswalle at the Allegheny County Jail. He said the two became friendly as Crisswalle, a pod worker, milled about the area, and that he sometimes bought marijuana while visiting Crisswalle's cell.
During their conversations, Vinansky said, Crisswalle asked why he was there and Vinansky explained that he had pleaded guilty to a number of charges, including burglary, theft, writing bad checks, robbery and drug trafficking.
He said Crisswalle told him about his contract to kill Mitchell and bragged that "me and my boys took care of him."
Vinansky said Crisswalle claimed that some witnesses also were eliminated, though it was not clear whether Crisswalle was referring to the others who were shot at the scene.
Though a number of prosecution witnesses have positively identified Crisswalle during the trial, those identifying Thompson have seemed less convincing.
The first witness called yesterday by defense attorney Michael DeRiso, who represents Thompson, was an ophthalmologist who said he had treated Thompson for an eye injury the day before and the morning of the shooting.
Dr. John Guehl of West Penn Hospital said that Thompson's right cornea was scratched and that his vision in that eye was 20-200, virtually useless without eyeglasses or contact lenses.
A key prosecution witness, though he testified that he did not see Thompson's face during the shooting, said the shooter reminded him of a "bug-eyed" acquaintance he knows as "Munch." That is Thompson's nickname.
Most witnesses have said two gunmen entered the restaurant. One witness said a third, unidentified man was with them.
The witnesses' descriptions of the gunmen's stature have been consistent. One assailant was said to be short -- investigators say that would have been Crisswalle. The other was more than 6 feet tall, in keeping with Thompson's height, Tranquilli has argued.
More detailed descriptions, however, have varied. Most often the gunmen have been described as dark-skinned black men. Both Crisswalle and Thompson are light-skinned.
DeRiso and defense attorney James Wymard, who represents Crisswalle, indicated at the start of the trial that their clients have alibis and were not at the restaurant at the time of the shootings.
Testimony will resume today.
First Published: November 4, 2004, 5:00 a.m.