Prosecutor defends handling of video evidence

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A Larimer man who was granted a new trial on a first-degree murder conviction should not be retried because prosecutors mishandled the case during the original trial, his attorney argued Thursday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

Assistant District Attorney Lisa Pellegrini took the stand and defended her actions as the lead prosecutor in the case against Freedom Bey. Bey, 44, was convicted in 2010 of killing Brendan Brooks, 38, in June 2008 at the Eat’n Park restaurant at The Waterfront in Homestead.

Judge Jill E. Rangos said she will decide Sept. 4 whether to block the new trial.

Bey’s life sentence was vacated last year after defense attorneys discovered additional surveillance footage from the restaurant that was not made available at trial and petitioned for post-conviction relief.

Bey took the stand in his own defense at the 2010 trial and told the jury he’d acted in self-defense when he shot Mr. Brooks. Bey, who had a history of disputes with Mr. Brooks, said he was trying to leave the restaurant when he saw an SUV blocking his path that he thought had been following him earlier.

The surveillance video shows an SUV stopped outside the restaurant, Allegheny County Police Detective Patrick Kinavey testified Thursday.

That video was not entered as evidence before the trial, despite a defense request that the prosecution turn over all videos from cameras inside and outside the restaurant.

Ms. Pellegrini gave one video to the defense and wrote in a December 2008 letter that she had turned over all available videos. She testified Thursday that she had only one video in evidence and could not say whether she checked with