Some charges dropped against teens accused of shooting BBs at man; death ruled accidental overdose

PITTSBURGH — Attempted homicide charges were dropped against four teens accused of shooting an unconscious man with a BB gun who later died. The decision came two days before the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office announced the man died of an accidental overdose.

The teens — Karmelo Harshey, 18, Desmond Robinson, 15, and Isaiah Johnson, 16, and Lee Wilson, 16 — still face charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and possessing an instrument of crime.

The man, Christopher Gaylor, 50, of Cadiz, Ohio, died Dec. 1 from combined drug poisoning of fentanyl, cocaine, ketamine and hyrdromorphone, according to a report from the medical examiner. The manner of death was ruled accidental.

Gaylor was found unconscious in a downtown alley and taken to a hospital, where healthcare professionals found metal BBs lodged in his head.

Video surveillance in the area revealed four people — allegedly the teens charged — firing BBs at him at close range.

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