Judge won't drop attempted homicide charge against man whose lawyer argued he was in state of psychosis from K2

After stabbing his victim several times, a then-21-year-old college student told police he was high on synthetic marijuana and didn't know what he was doing. But on Thursday, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward Borkowski refused to drop an attempted homicide charge against Jasper Hilliard.

The New Jersey man is accused of stabbing a 74-year-old man seven times and leaving him for dead in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood in July 2023. Frank Walker, Hilliard's attorney, doesn't dispute the facts, only that his client was high on gas station weed and not in his right mind at the time.  

"The only issue is whether he could formulate the specific intent to kill, to formulate the basis of that charge," he said. 

Walker asked the court on Thursday morning to drop an attempted homicide charge against his client, arguing that after smoking the synthetic marijuana known as K2, Hilliard was in a state of psychosis — unaware of and not in control of his actions. But Borkowski scotched a potential plea deal by refusing to drop the charge, and Hilliard will now stand trial in June.

"The judge didn't agree at this juncture, but that doesn't mean that we don't have that argument to raise at trial," Walker said. 

"I was hoping it would end today, but that would have meant dropping the attempted murder charge — that's a no-no," Al Carlson, the victim, said. 

It's been nearly three years since the brutal daytime attack. Since then, Hilliard has been out on a $1 million bond, living with his parents in New Jersey. Both Carlson and his Shadyside neighbors — who have rallied around him — are impatient for justice, but reject the claim that Hilliard was not in control of his actions.

"He knew what he was doing," Carlson said. 

In court, Deputy District Attorney Jennifer DiGiovanni said that though high, Hilliard chose his victim, tried to hide him in the stairwell, and fled the scene, indicating he had intent to kill. 

"He was conscious of his guilt," DiGiovanni said in court. "That all shows his ability to carry out a plan." 

Carlson's supporters say they'll accept the court's decision but want to see justice served. Judge Borkowski will decide if Hilliard knew what he was doing when he stabbed Carlson and left him for dead.