Suspects in Brighton Heights funeral shooting held for trial

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Two suspects in the shooting at a funeral in Brighton Heights have been held for trial.

At the hearing on Friday, the prosecution shared new video they said shows 16-year-old Hezekiah Nixon and 19-year-old Shawn Davis.  

In the video that was played in court, the prosecution alleges that Nixon and Davis cased the church about 20 to 30 minutes before the alleged shooting. The cameras are from a nearby restaurant and outside the Destiny of Faith Church.

At one point, one of the two was seen holding a gun while the other hid something under his clothes, the video shows.

They eventually cross the street and open fire. According to the district attorney's office, 23 shots were fired outside the funeral that day. They say one victim was hit 13 times. One of the two alleged shooters also chased a victim while still firing his gun, the video shows. 

In one part of the frame, horses used to pull a carriage holding a casket get scared by the gunfire. According to court records, one of the horses was hit by multiple bullet fragments. A woman who was shot was also seen in the video limping toward the church to take cover.

Officers testified the two took off in a car near the shooting. They traced that car back to an address in McKees Rocks. 

During their testimony, the officer said they saw the two people come out of the house in McKees Rocks before stopping them on the McKees Rocks Bridge.  

The defense argues that you cannot tell who the people are that did the shooting outside the funeral are. They say they have their faces covered. They're dressed in all black and you can't make out any identifiable features from the alleged shooters.

Casey White was defending Nixon.

"The surveillance video from prior to the shooting, you can see two individuals dressed in all black. You cannot identify them. Law enforcement was unable to identify them. In the video that moves to and from the church, you clearly cannot see who the individuals are," White said. 

The judge says the district attorney met the burden of proof for this to go to trial. There will be a formal arraignment sometime in March.  

"A lot for him to unpack," White said. "He's sitting in Allegheny County Jail awaiting trial. He's disappointed with the results. I think he's happy to see that there are a lot of holes in the commonwealth's case."