PITTSBURGH — The case will move forward against Riley Doubt, the 15-year-old accused of shooting and killing a 17-year-old in the Cultural District.
Dianne Thomas is trying to accept that she’ll never see her grandson again, sharing these pictures of Alijah Thomas-Hayden. Channel 11 first met Thomas in 2019 when her daughter, Kala, Alijah’s mother, was shot and killed.
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Less than a decade later, her grandson suffered the same fate.
“I’m going through the same thing I went through nine years ago with his mother,” Thomas said. “I’ve been hearing different stories from different people, so I don’t know what’s true or not.”
The prosecution and the defense each have differing views on what happened on June 14 near Katz Plaza.
Surveillance video shown in court Friday showed Doubt and Thomas-Hayden getting into a brief fight at the Plaza. Both sides agree Doubt can be seen with a gun. In court documents, Pittsburgh police said Doubt later admitted to shooting the victim. But Doubt’s defense attorney said his client believed Thomas-Hayden had a gun and believes he acted in self-defense and the defense of others.
“You heard the detective indicate that during Mr. Doubt’s interview, he said that he saw the outline of a gun on the victim, and the way the victim was dressed, and the way he pursued the third party with his right hand reaching towards the right side of his pocket – I think that confirms that something bad was about to happen,” said Michael DeRiso.
Thomas said she hopes justice is served for her grandson.
“Where do these 15 year olds get guns from? I don’t understand that part,” Thomas said.
DeRiso said his team plans to meet with the Prosecutor’s Office.
“I think that this case should be worked out, and I think Mr. Doubt should be decertified because I can’t imagine – after we just all saw – that young man spending the rest of his life behind bars,” DeRiso said.
Doubt’s family members were in court for the preliminary hearing, some of whom were emotional when the judge held the charges for court.
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