Pittsburgh man free after guilty plea in shooting

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Pittsburgh man has been released from jail after pleading guilty to the fatal 2006 shooting that put him there.

Twenty-three-year-old Jerry Gaines spent 40 months in jail after he was arrested for shooting 27-year-old Lance Howard nearly four years ago.

A jury acquitted him of first- and third-degree murder in the shooting, and deadlocked on manslaughter charges. He was tried twice again for voluntary manslaughter, with juries deadlocking each time, before he pleaded guilty to the charge Tuesday under a plea agreement.

Judge David Cashman of Allegheny County Common Pleas Court sentenced Gaines to 21 to 42 months in jail, but Gaines was freed immediately because of the time he had already served.

Gaines claims the shooting was self-defense, and that Howard was shot with his own gun.