Cellphone videos help identify suspect in three separate Mon Valley shootings

In July, three different shootings injured four people and killed one in the Mon Valley, and thanks to cellphone footage obtained by investigators, charges have now been filed. 

According to the criminal complaint, 26-year-old Calid Pettiford is facing charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, and other gun-related charges. 

On July 12 and 13, three shootings happened in three different places. First, just after 5 p.m., a man was found shot in the back and bleeding at Sixth Street in Braddock. 

Hours later, again on Sixth Street, but this time in Duquesne, a teenager was found shot in the shoulder. 

In both of those shootings, the victims told police that the alleged shooter had fled the scene. 

Just after 1 a.m. in Clairton, on Washington Avenue, first responders found a man and a woman who both had been shot. The woman, who was pregnant at the time, was found dead at the scene. She was identified as 18-year-old Ja'el Torres, who had just recently graduated from high school. 

Meanwhile, police identified the man who had been shot in the chest as Pettiford. According to the criminal complaint, as part of the investigation, multiple guns were recovered. 

After executing a search warrant to download data from Pettiford's cellphone, detectives viewed three videos on the phone where he described the first two shootings in detail as well as brandishing the guns. They also referenced GPS data from the phone that put Pettiford at the scene of the shooting in Duquesne. 

It was also learned that Pettiford had a criminal history as a juvenile when he was charged with firearm violations in 2020.