Judge convicts man in 2017 murder in city
A 31-year-old East Allegheny man was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder in a 2017 slaying over suspicions that the victim was a drug informant.
Justin Parrotte was found guilty of first-degree murder and a gun violation in the shooting death of John Miller, 40, on Jan. 25, 2017.
Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning presided over the nonjury trial last week and issued his verdict Tuesday. He is scheduled to sentence Parrotte on May 26.
Parrotte faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. Police believe Parrotte killed Miller because the defendant thought the victim was an informant.
Miller’s body was found on a
flight of city steps in the 1000 block of Vinial Street in the city’s Spring Garden neighborhood.
Pittsburgh detectives found surveillance video that showed two men and a woman at the Vinial Street steps around the time of the murder at 11:49 p.m. The men ascended, while the woman stayed behind, according to a criminal complaint.
The woman began walking away, and then one of the men came down the steps and caught up with her. Video showed the man tucking something into his sweatshirt pocket.
An unidentified witness who said the victim regularly bought drugs on Phineas Street told police that the man went by the street name “Sosa.” Detectives said they linked the nickname to Parrotte.
Another witness told police that on the day of the killing, Parrotte wanted to identify two informants, including one named “Johnny,” who he thought might have been responsible for a drug bust on Phineas Street. The witness told police that Parrotte was carrying a .40-caliber handgun.
According to the complaint, the witness knew the victim from buying heroin and volunteered to help Parrotte identify him.
That night, the witness met with Miller and
Parrotte. Parrotte told Miller he would pay him to help move things around his house, the complaint said, and the two went up the Vinial Street steps with the witness staying behind as a lookout. The witness heard numerous gunshots.
After the shooting, the witness and Parrotte walked to the National Aviary on Arch Street in Allegheny Center and then to a park, where Parrotte played on the swings, the witness said.
Police learned that Robinson police had a warrant for Parrotte’s arrest for stealing a .40-caliber handgun. Detectives said the headstamp on the ammunition bought with the gun matched that found on spent casings at the crime scene.
Detectives arrested Parrotte eight days after the killing when they set up a drug sting. One detective said he saw Parrotte pull a gun from his waistband and discard it. They determined it was the stolen firearm from Robinson, according to the complaint.