Jury finds Christian Bey guilty in off-duty Pittsburgh Officer Calvin Hall's shooting death
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A jury found Christian Bey, the man accused of shooting and killing off-duty Pittsburgh Police Officer Calvin Hall, guilty.
The jury got the case after closing arguments Wednesday morning and returned Thursday for deliberations. Bey was found guilty of first degree criminal homicide.
Hall's family reacted with gratitude to the verdict.
"He was a great person, kind person. He loved his family. He loved his job and taking care of people," said his cousin Lindsay Hall.
The jury was asked to sort out evidence from conflicting testimony about a chaotic street party in Homewood four years ago.
The defense challenged the prosecution's sole eyewitness to the shooting who positively identified Bey as the man who fired three shots from between two hours, fatally striking Hall in the back.
Bey's attorneys questioned how she could be so sure on such a dark night and entered into evidence a blood alcohol reading indicating Hall was intoxicated and presented other witnesses who said he had been confrontational and waved his gun around.
Defense attorney Carmen Robinson told the jury there were multiple people with guns on the scene, saying any one of them could have shot Hall.
"I feel that the whole investigation was a rush to judgment," Robinson said. "I feel like it was also a biased investigation and not biased in the sense that it was intentional but that this was an off-duty officer that was a Pittsburgh police officer and the Pittsburgh police department was investigating it and I just really felt like they were unable to set aside their feelings and emotions."
But Deputy District Attorney Stephie-Aanna Ramaley said physical evidence doesn't lie, citing video and DNA evidence linking Bey to the murder weapon. The jury asked Thursday to view again dash cam video of Bey being interviewed by police in which he denied owning the gun and told police he was not at the party at the time but at a nearby bar. On Wednesday, the jury asked to see surveillance video which showed Bey arriving at the bar hours after the shooting incident.
"Justice has prevailed and we're thankful that the evidence showed the truth in this matter, so we all miss Calvin dearly and this is justice for him," his father Curtis Hall said.
Pittsburgh police issued a statement saying, "While detectives investigate all homicides with the same level of rigor and attention, Calvin Hall was a colleague and a friend so this investigation and trial has been emotional for many who worked alongside him."
Before the trial, the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office withdrew its intent to seek the death penalty against Bey. He's spent four years in jail awaiting the trial and now faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.