Suspect charged in 2015 killing of man in wheelchair

A man has been charged in connection with the killing of a man in a wheelchair outside a Hill District bar in 2015.

Ondray Upsher, 67, was charged in early December with homicide and firearms violations. He’s accused of fatally shooting 28-year-old Jawan Tasker as he sat in his wheelchair outside of Kenny’s Place on Fifth Avenue.

Upsher was convicted of third-degree murder in 1980 and sentenced to 7½ to 20 years in prison. It was not clear when Upsher was released.

On the night of the Oct. 25, 2015, shooting, two Pittsburgh police officers were flagged down shortly before midnight by a woman screaming that a man had been shot, according to the criminal complaint filed against Upsher. Police found Tasker on the ground next to his overturned wheelchair. He was pronounced dead at the scene from a single gunshot to the chest.

Investigators said cameras in and around Kenny’s Place — including the nearby Aces and Deuces — captured the shooting. The footage showed a man later identified as Upsher spending time at both bars before going out onto the sidewalk and talking with a witness and, later, Tasker. Police said the video showed Upsher approaching Tasker on the sidewalk and leaning over him in close conversation.

According to the complaint, Upsher appears to be holding a gun while he’s bent over speaking to Tasker. The footage shows bystanders reacting to the gunshot, Tasker slumping over, and the alleged shooter walking away.

One witness told investigators they socialized with Upsher inside Kenny’s Place before he flashed a gun and the witness became uncomfortable and walked away, according to the complaint. The witness said they recognized Upsher from the neighborhood but did not know his name.

That same witness was outside and witnessed the shooting, police said. They would later identify Upsher from a photo array.

A second witness was tending bar inside Kenny’s Place at the time and also recognized Upsher from the neighborhood, police said. A third witness was working at Ace’s and Deuce’s at the time and recognized the alleged shooter as “JD’s dad,” according to the complaint.

Officers were familiar with a male in the neighborhood by that nickname and confirmed that that was the “JD” the bartender was talking about, according to the complaint. The investigators used school records to identify “JD’s dad” as Upsher. The Ace’s and Deuce’s bartender later identified a photo of Upsher as the man that had been in the bar just before the shooting.

It’s not clear what was happening in the investigation in the intervening seven years, but investigators re-questioned the second witness, the Kenny’s Place bartender, in March 2023, according to the complaint. The witness was shown a photo of Upsher, whom the witness identified as the man who had been in the bar just prior to the shooting.

The bartender at Kenny’s Place said they hadn’t seen Upsher since the night of the shooting, and the bartender from Ace’s and Deuce’s said they worked there until 2021 and never saw Upsher again.

Charges against Upsher were filed Dec. 6, court records show, and he was taken into custody Dec. 19. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 12.