Man is acquitted of slaying in retrial

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

A western Pennsylvania man has been acquitted in his second trial in a shooting death a year ago in Pittsburgh.

An Allegheny County jury on Monday acquitted 36-year-old Virgil Williams of seven counts in the slaying of 19-year-old Michael Garnett Jr.

Garnett was shot on a porch in the Homewood section of Pittsburgh in May 2010. Authorities said at the time of the shooting that he may not have been the intended target.

Assistant public defender Shelley Duff argued that her client was not the gunman.

A mistrial was declared in March in Williams’ first trial after a jury could not reach a unanimous decision.