Homicide case ends in mistrial

Jurors admit seeing news about arrest

A homicide trial ended in a mistrial Friday as attorneys were about to give their closing arguments.

The abrupt ending to the case against Charles Williams, 18, and Tremond Alston, 19, was caused by members of the jury having seen information about the case on television news and in the Post-Gazette.

The story jurors saw referred to the father of one of the defendants in the case who had been charged Wednesday with aggravated jury tampering after he approached a juror Downtown on Tuesday evening.

English Burton, 67, of Perry North approached a juror who was in his car at a stoplight at Ross Street and Fifth Avenue about 4:45 p.m.

According to the criminal complaint against Mr. Burton, the juror told investigators that Mr. Burton first said, “’How is your wife?’” The juror answered that the woman had died three years earlier, and Mr. Burton then said to the juror, “’I love my boy, and I need your help.’”

The juror said nothing in return, and Mr. Burton shouted his phone number and yelled, “‘Call me.’”

He was charged the next morning with aggravated jury

tampering, obstruction and criminal attempt.

Mr. Burton was being held at the Allegheny County Jail.

On Friday, Alston’s attorney, Patrick Thomassey, saw the article in the PostGazette and asked Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos to ask jurors whether any of them had read it.

One juror said she saw a story on the morning news and told other jurors about it. Others admitted to reading the story in the newspaper. Jurors get standard instructions from the court that include refraining from watching, reading or listening to any media coverage of the case.

Judge Rangos declared a mistrial.

Mr. Thomassey said he was upset by it, given the expenditure of time and resources by the court, prosecutors and defense attorneys in the case.

“Fourteen citizens take six days of their lives, and this jerk has to meddle with it,” Mr. Thomassey said of Mr. Burton’s actions. “We didn’t do anything wrong, but as a result, I get a mistrial.”

Williams and Alston are accused of killing Chauncy Howard, whose body was found in a car Jan. 10, 2016, in Sheraden.

A new trial date is expected to be set next week.