A Beaver County man, who had romantic ties to a slain Aliquippa schoolteacher, went on trial Thursday in a separate case in which he is accused of killing a friend — one who the defense said was so close he was like family.
Sheldon Jeter Jr., 23, of Aliquippa, was charged with homicide in connection to the fatal shooting of 30-year-old Tyric Pugh in May 2020. Police and prosecutors allege Mr. Jeter pulled the trigger along Kiehl Street after the two got ice cream together.
The prosecution, seeking a conviction of first-degree murder, focused their opening statements on the evidence they claim links Mr. Jeter to the crime scene just moments before Mr. Pugh was found dead. Among the evidence they’ll be focusing on is a surveillance video that allegedly shows Mr. Jeter leaving the scene of the crime just minutes after Pugh, who was shot five times in the head, was killed.
The defense sought to cast doubt by emphasizing the friendship between the two men and the lack of motive.
“Tyric Pugh and Sheldon Jeter were close friends,” defense attorney Randall McKinney told the jury. “So close, in fact, that when Tyric had nowhere to stay, he stayed with Sheldon.”
Beaver County Assistant District Attorney Chad Parks walked the jury through much of the prosecution’s narrative during his hour-long opening, beginning with the wounded state in which Mr. Pugh was found.
“Seven total injuries, six of which are bullet entry wounds,” he said. “One of which entered the upper left chest, lower left arm. Five of which are in the head.”
Mr. Jeter’s statements to police, Mr. Parker said, “evolved” throughout the early parts of the investigation — first Mr. Jeter told police that Mr. Pugh walked away from his residence after they got ice cream, but he later recalled leaving the house with his friend to bring medication to his cousin.
But Mr. McKinney focused on how cooperative his client had been with the police investigation. “You’ve heard that his statements were inconsistent. Again, you be the judge of that,” he said, adding that it was a matter of whether Mr. Jeter was “inconsistent” or “just answering the questions that were asked.”
He compared the trial to a roadway on the route to a guilty verdict, with the destination blocked by the metaphoric “brick wall” of reasonable doubt, and the prosecution attempting to eventually demolish that wall by the end of the trial. “If there are any bricks remaining on that road ... I ask you to return a verdict of not guilty.”
Two witnesses for the prosecution took the stand Thursday morning: the emergency dispatcher who took the initial call and the man who dialed 911 when he stumbled across the body on his way home.
That witness, 63-year-old Joseph S. Richardson, of Aliquippa, said he was heading home from work after completing a double shift at Pittsburgh International Airport around 11:15 p.m. when he saw Mr. Pugh’s body.
Mr. Pugh’s body was lying in the street “as if he had slipped on a wet surface or something like that,” Mr. Richardson said.
He recalled: “I tapped him on the right leg as I was walking by his feet and said, ‘Hey, hey, buddy. You with us?’ ” Mr. Pugh did not respond.
That was when he called 911 to alert emergency services of the body. Prosecutors played the audio of that call to the jury.
“It looks like a man got hit by a car, he’s not in good shape,” Mr. Richardson could be heard telling the dispatcher. “I don’t even know if he’s alive.”
He said he didn’t remember anyone else near the crime scene, the one exception being another passerby who had found Mr. Pugh’s body before Mr. Richardson and left to seek help from friends before he returned.
That man, 24-year-old Brandon Waxler, of Rochester, said he was heading to a friend’s house in Aliquippa that night after stopping at a local Sheetz for some beer.
“As I reach the first bend at Kiehl Street ... I slam on the brakes. That was the moment I saw a man laying on his back,” he told the jury.
He didn’t immediately get out of his car to assist Mr. Pugh because it was late at night and dark, he said. “The amount of blood I did see on the street — something bad went down.”
The final two witnesses of the day were Pennsylvania State Troopers who investigated the crime: Corporal Michael Miller and Trooper Clayton McGeary. Both described how they investigated and secured the scene.
After going to Mr. Jeter’s residence, state police took his car to have it processed. A trooper drove it away from the house after putting on gloves and laying down a blanket to preserve potential evidence, Mr. Miller said. The vehicle eventually broke down and needed to be towed to the barracks.
Prior to his arrest, Mr. Jeter was known for his connection to Rachael DelTondo, a teacher who was gunned down outside her parents’ home in 2018.
The DelTondo case, which is unrelated to the ongoing trial, captured national attention due to the mystery over who killed the 33-year-old teacher. There have been no arrests made in the case, but a grand jury investigation into the incident is reportedly ongoing.
Ms. DelTondo was suspended from her job at Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School after a leaked police report detailed she and Mr. Jeter met in her car while he was still a teen. The two had a sporadic romantic relationship.
The woman’s ex-fiance, a local businessman named Frank Catroppa, and Mr. Jeter were both questioned during investigations into the incident. Both men’s lawyers have denied their clients had anything to do with Ms. DelTondo’s death.
Police have not identified suspects in the case.
In May 2019, Mr. Jeter made headlines again after he was found unconscious on the side of the road along Orchard Street at Sheffield Avenue in Aliquippa at 4 a.m. on a Sunday, just hours after the crime show “48 Hours” aired an episode about Ms. DelTondo’s death on CBS. His attorney said at the time that Mr. Jeter passed out after drinking at a party.
Mick Stinelli: mstinelli@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1869 and on Twitter: @MickStinelli
Correction, made at 1:35 p.m. June 10: The Beaver County Assistant District Attorney named in this story is Chad Parks. His last name was incorrectly spelled in an earlier version of this story.
First Published: June 10, 2021, 10:23 a.m.
Updated: June 10, 2021, 11:35 p.m.