Break-up leads to fatal shooting

By JAMES ENGEL and JUSTIN VELLUCCI
TribLive

A Pittsburgh man preparing to move out of his girlfriend’s West Mifflin apartment early Monday fatally shot the woman’s new partner, Allegheny County Police said.

Police say the accused shooter — Richard Jetter, 27, of Beechview — claims he didn’t know why victim Omar Poole was in the apartment Jetter shared with an unidentified woman and the couple’s daughter around 12:40 a.m.

Jetter told police he shot Poole out of self-defense, according to a criminal complaint.

“He was going for his gun,” Jetter told authorities at West Mifflin police headquarters, the complaint said.

“(Jetter) stated he was scared and the male was reaching,” the complaint said. “(Jetter) said he was defending himself, his home and his daughter.”

First responders found Poole, 29, of Penn Hills in a hallway off the apartment’s living room at 901 B Dr., the complaint said. He had been shot multiple times in the torso and leg.

They rushed Poole to an area hospital. He died there at 1:36 a.m — less than an hour after the shooting, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Jetter called 911 and remained in the apartment after the shooting and was taken into custody by police, the complaint said. He was taken to the Allegheny County Jail.

Jetter was awaiting arraignment Monday afternoon, court records show. He did not have an attorney listed in court records.

The woman, identified in court paperwork only as Witness 1, told police she was “in the process of breaking up” with Jetter, who had lived in the apartment with her for a year, the complaint said. She also “was getting back together with Poole.”

Police said Jetter had been texting the woman Sunday night because he was planning to move “his stuff” out of the apartment.

The woman told police she was not in the room during the shooting, the complaint said. She also said “there was no arguments or speaking prior to the shooting.”

Police said Poole appeared to be taking food out of a Sheetz bag and putting it in the fridge when Jetter entered the apartment. Officers later found the bag, which was stained brown and red.

Jetter told police he typically gets home from his job between midnight and 12:30 a.m., the complaint said.

The complaint did not say where Jetter works — or if he was returning home from work at the time of the shooting.

Police said Jetter “was vague” with dispatchers when he called 911 to report the shooting. Jetter said “he didn’t want to answer anything without a lawyer,” the complaint said.

Police found multiple bullet casings in the apartment.

The apartment is in the 900 building of a housing complex off Lebanon School Road near U.S. Steel’s Irvin Works and the Allegheny County Airport.