Charges upheld in double slaying

Associated Press

WEST MIFFLIN, Pa.

A western Pennsylvania judge has upheld homicide charges against a man charged in the shooting deaths of two men at a Pittsburgh-area housing complex.

Twenty-year-old Richard Krista of Homestead is charged in Allegheny County in the May 11 deaths.

Police allege that he killed 21-year-old Cory Ruder and 19-year-old Joseph Sherrill at the Mon View Heights housing complex

A judge last week held for court criminal homicide charges against the defendant, whose formal arraignment is scheduled for July 10.

WPXI-TV says a witness told the judge that he saw Krista fleeing the scene of the shooting.

Detectives have said that they had a report of an earlier gun battle reportedly between the defendant and Ruder.