Suspect in South Side shooting that critically injured friend appears in court

PITTSBURGH — Only Channel 11 was there as Julyan Richards went before a judge for his preliminary hearing at City Court.

The Southside shooting suspect will stand trial on all charges, including criminal attempted homicide.

Police say Richards was caught on home doorbell footage shooting a friend outside of Walker’s Pub on Sarah Street on April 2.

That friend testified in court that the shooting happened when Richards asked him for a ride up the street, and he refused because he had been drinking.

He said they had spent over three hours having several drinks at Walker’s.

When he would not give Richards a ride afterward, Richards responded by shooting him one time in the chest outside of the bar and walking away.

The victim is visibly still recovering today and came to court with an injured arm.

Defense attorney Owen Seman says there is much more to the story, and Richards had no intent to kill the victim.

“There’s a lot of questions as to what exactly happened, what exactly conversations there were, and this is very early on in this whole process,” said Seman.

The victim told prosecutors that the shooting was clearly not an accident.

Police paperwork states Richards went to East Carson Street after the shooting and told people at another bar that he just shot a man and wanted to turn himself in.

“It’s never easy. He doesn’t have a prior record, so he’s never been in jail before, so I mean he’s hanging in there,” said Seman.

A detective testified police recovered Richards’ clothing and a cell phone near train tracks shortly after the shooting occurred.

Seman also argued that the attempted homicide charge should be reduced because there was no intent to kill.

Despite that argument, the judge did not alter the charge.

Richards is set to appear in court on June 13 for his formal arraignment.

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