Rebuffed by a woman in a bar, a Penn Hills man said he would "murk” her before shooting her in the chest on the street outside, a security guard said.
After an afternoon of testimony Wednesday in Pittsburgh Municipal Court, a district judge ordered Charles McKinney held in the death of Janese Jackson Talton, 29, sister of Ed Gainey, a Democratic state legislator from Lincoln-Lemington.
According to police, Mr. McKinney, 43, had approached Ms. Talton at Cliff's Bar in Homewood on Jan. 22, but she didn't want anything to do with him, so he shot her.
After the shooting, police said he left in a car, leading officers on a chase during which an officer on foot shot him in the head.
Russ Acquil, a security guard at the bar who was romantically involved with Ms. Talton, said he was working the front door that night and saw some of the interaction between Mr. McKinney and Ms. Talton.
After she apparently rejected him, Mr. Acquil said, he heard Mr. McKinney say he was going to "murk" her, street slang for murder.
When she left the bar, Mr. McKinney followed. Mr. Acquil said he watched what happened next through a window of the bar.
"I seen McKinney's arm raised and I seen a flash," he said.
Ms. Talton collapsed. Mr. Acquil ran outside with his gun and chased Mr. McKinney, he said, but lost him.
City police soon arrived to see a Chevy Malibu speeding along Upland Street. They said they pulled the vehicle over on North Homewood Avenue and approached with guns drawn, but said Mr. McKinney sped away, leading to a chase through Homewood. After Mr. McKinney crashed, officers approached the car again but said he sped off toward other officers, one of whom fired into the car. A bullet grazed Mr. McKinney's head but he kept going.
The chase continued into Wilkinsburg and onto the Parkway and back into Wilkinsburg, where McKinney crashed into a parked car. Officers then subdued him. Authorities said they found a gun in Mr. McKinney’s pocket along with heroin, cocaine and marijuana.
District Judge James Hanley ordered Mr. McKinney held on homicide and numerous other charges related to the chase, including aggravated assault on police. Officers said he tried to run them over several times during the pursuit.
Wendy Williams, Mr. McKinney's lawyer, said after the hearing that no one saw her client with a gun at the scene of the shooting or during the chase.
“We’re very confident that we can show it was not an intentional shooting,” she said.
Mr. Gainey attended the hearing but had no comment. Jacob Talton, Ms. Talton's father, spoke for relatives in saying the family is glad Mr. McKinney was held on all charges.
"We're satisfied at this point," he said. "I just hope justice will be served."
Torsten Ove: tove@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1504.
First Published: February 11, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
