DA won鈥檛 seek death penalty against one of two Donora homicide suspects
The Washington County district attorney’s office will no longer seek the death penalty against one of the two homicide defendants charged in the 2021 shooting that killed a Donora convenience store worker.
Deputy District Attorney John Friedmann filed paperwork Thursday that the prosecution is withdrawing its notice of aggravating circumstances against Devell Dexter Christian that had made it a capital homicide case.
Christian, 36, of White Oak, and Sidney Devon McLean, 37, of Washington, are accused of walking into Anna Lee’s Convenience Store on Feb. 24, 2021, and firing multiple shots at 28-year-old Nicholas Tarpley, who died after being struck by six bullets while he was making a sandwich for a customer. Both are facing homicide and other charges, although only McLean is now facing the death penalty if he is convicted of first-degree murder.
District Attorney Jason Walsh said there were “legitimate legal litigation reasons to withdraw” the aggravating circumstances against Christian, but he declined to elaborate on why.
A filing from Christian’s attorneys in early November indicated they were requesting a psychological evaluation by Dr. Michael Crabtree that included IQ tests and other examinations. The results of those tests were not released, but they indicate that Christian’s attorneys were seeking information on their client’s intellectual capabilities to determine whether he would be eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
Neither Christian’s lead defense attorney, Kenneth Haber, nor McLean’s defense attorney, Patrick Nightengale, returned phone calls seeking comment.
Immediately after the prosecution withdrew its intent to seek the death penalty last week, Haber immediately filed a motion withdrawing the defense’s request to have the Washington County district attorney’s office disqualified from prosecuting the case over claims that it is overzealously pursuing capital punishment in homicide cases. McLean’s attorneys followed suit by withdrawing a supplemental motion to disqualify Walsh’s office.
A hearing on the matter scheduled for Friday before President Judge Valarie Costanzo was canceled after the defense attorneys withdrew their motions to disqualify.
Attorneys for Christian and McLean are also intervenors in a petition filed by Jordan Clarke, who is a defendant in another death penalty case, asking the state Supreme Court to block Walsh from being able to pursue capital punishment due to the number of times he’s pursued it since 2021. The Philadelphia-based Atlantic Center for Capital Representation in July asked the high court to exercise “extraordinary jurisdiction” and “King’s Bench” powers over Walsh’s threat of the death penalty against nearly a dozen criminal defendants since he was elevated to district attorney nearly five years ago.
The case has been stalled since November, and it was not known if the state Supreme Court would rule on the matter.
The Atlantic Center for Capital Representation could not be reached for comment Monday on the decision to reverse course on pursuing the death penalty against Christian.
Christian and McLean are being held without bond while they await trial in the homicide case.