Homicide charges dropped against Churchill man accused in 2021 Parkway East shooting

WPXI.com News Staff
·2 min read
1

Charges against a Churchill man who was accused in the shooting death of a woman on the Parkway East last year have been dropped.

RELATED: Pair of men charged in Route 28, Parkway East homicides last year

According to our partners at TribLIVE.com, charges filed against 35-year-old Leroy Eugene Irvin Jr. in the death of 24-year-old Jasmine Guest were dismissed at a preliminary hearing before Castle Shannon Magisterial Judge David Barton.

Aggravated assault and attempted homicide charges against Irvin were also dismissed.

The charges filed against Irvin’s co-defendant, 26-year-old Howard Milligan of Turtle Creek, were held for trial in a preliminary hearing in March.

Milligan’s trial is scheduled to start on July 14 in Allegheny County Court, according to the Trib.

“We are pleased that the murder charges were dismissed against Mr. Irvin, but disappointed that the charges were even filed,” Irvin’s attorney, Frank Walker, said. “This was a clear attempt to develop and strengthen the case against the alleged shooter (Milligan) by unlawfully charging Mr. Irvin with murder charges in hopes that he would testify against Mr. Milligan at trial … despite having absolutely no evidence that he was involved other than being merely present at the scene of the crime.”

The Trib also said that Irvin and Milligan still face criminal homicide charges in connection with the shooting death of 22-year-old Shane Edwards of Pittsburgh. Edwards was killed while traveling on Route 28 in Shaler around 2 a.m. on May 22, 2021, the same night that Jasmine Guest was shot and killed.

Both Irvin and Milligan remain in the Allegheny County Jail.

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