Judge signs gag order for criticized video
Three weeks after a video was posted in which Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. refers to the targets of a widely publicized Downtown shooting last year as “crimi-nals” despite not yet being convicted, Common Pleas Judge Kevin Sasinoski signed a gag order Tuesday that would keep the video under seal.
Mr. Zappala took down the recording from the county’s district attorney YouTube page a few days later after he was criticized by attorneys and public officials for potentially violating legal ethics and biasing the trial process.
The Aug. 16 video described a May 2022 driveby shooting near the corner of Fourth Avenue and Stanwix Street that resulted in the death of 18month-old De’Avry Thomas.
The child was strapped into his car seat in the back of a Jeep Wrangler driven by his mother when Markez Anger and Londell Falconer Jr. fired shots into the vehicle, purportedly targeting Hezekiah Nixon and Tylajae Allen.
Anger and Falconer were convicted of first-degree murder this June, but Nixon and Allen were arrested last August in connection to a separate incident of gun violence in California-Kirkbride.
Nixon and Allen have not been convicted, but Mr. Zappala referred to the two men as “criminals” in the video, which was described as a briefing for the public.
“Stating that my client is a criminal, depicting him as an affiliate gang member,” said defense attorney Casey White, “it was concerning and irresponsible.”
Mr. White added that by filing for the gag order, the district attorney was “acknowledging he made a mistake.”
According to the motion for a gag order, Chief Trial Deputy District Attorney William Petulla responded to claims from the defense attorney that the DA’s briefing will “have a negative impact on the jury pool.” He argued that there was no evidence of prejudice, but because neither Nixon’s nor Allen’s case has been given a definitive trial date, a gag order would be appropriate “in an abundance of caution.”
None of the attorneys present Tuesday objected, and Judge Sasinoski did not comment as he signed the order. All documents in the case are currently under seal.
Mr. Zappala is running for a seventh term in office. He lost the Democratic primary in May to Matt Dugan, the county’s former chief public defender, but is now seeking office as a Republican following a write-in campaign.
A spokesperson from the District Attorney’s office did not respond to requests for comment.