Suspect In Shooting That Put Teen In Wheelchair Held For Trial
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Deallo Mitchell, 19, gets around best these days in a wheelchair. He has limited abilities with braces and a walker.
The former West Mifflin High School football player has had to make a lot of adjustments since he was shot back on July 21 of last year during a confrontation in Greenfield.
On Thursday, Mitchell came face to face with the man he says shot him. The suspect, Cody Caterino, was in court for a hearing.
The shooting happened near the intersection of Stanley and Connor Streets when two groups of guys had some type of confrontation. Mitchell was sitting in the backseat of a car with his friends outside.
He testified he heard one of them exclaim, "Get back in the car. They have guns."
Mitchell testified he heard voices, but didn't know what the exchange was about.
He told the judge, "I just remember he was holding a gun at the window closest to me."
Then, he said, "I remember my back felt like it was on fire. I couldn't feel my legs."
Under cross examination, defense attorney Charles Porter challenged Mitchell's vague description of the man who shot him, his inability to describe the clothing he wore or a specific hair or eye color.
But the end, Caterino was held for trial based on Mitchell's recollection that the man in court Thursday was the man who fired the shot that changed his life.
Caterino remains in the Allegheny County Jail primarily on unrelated charges, but the judge made it clear he is to have no contact with the victim in this case - that includes email, text messages or phone calls.
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