Death penalty sought in slaying

Death penalty sought in slaying

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Prosecutors in western Pennsylvania plan to seek the death penalty for a man charged in the slaying of a mother of six outside a Pittsburgh bar earlier this year.

Allegheny County officials said they will seek capital punishment if 22-year-old Dorian Peebles of Pittsburgh is convicted of first-degree murder. Peebles and 21-year-old James Lawrence are charged in the Feb. 28 shooting death of 28-year-old Tiona Jackson outside a bar in Beltzhoover.

District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. cited as factors supporting capital punishment that the slaying occurred during the commission of another felony, others were put at risk and the defendant has a “significant history” of violent felony convictions.

Defense attorney Blaine Jones told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that his only comment was that he was “deeply saddened” by the violence in the city and “no matter what happens in this case, there are simply no winners.”

Prosecutors have not announced whether they will seek the death penalty for Lawrence, who is also charged along with another man in the March 30 slaying of a man pulled off a party bus following an argument with several women.