Mistrial declared in case of man accused of shooting and killing off-duty Pittsburgh police officer

PITTSBURGH — A major upset in a trial nearly four years in the making; on Tuesday, a simple question and answer were enough for a judge to declare a mistrial for suspect Christian Bey who police said is responsible for pulling the trigger.

According to police, officer Calvin Hall was off duty attending a block party in Homewood.

Court documents stated the party had gotten rowdy with people arguing in the street. Then at 1:35 a.m., a shot spotter alert was reported on Monticello Street, three shots, and when officers arrived, they found Hall lying in the street.

He died three days later, and police arrested Bey.

In court on Tuesday, the prosecution’s third witness took the stand - a wo

man who testified that she was at the party. She explained Hall was a distant relative who visited often. But when they asked her how she knew the defendant, Christian Bey, she responded that Bey had moved in across the street after being released from prison.

That was enough to declare a mistrial.

“Whenever a witness takes the stand inadvertently certain things can come out,” said Phil DiLucente, a legal expert.

Certain things like criminal records.

“Unless or until defense makes the character of some nature or forms an issue then the pre-trial rulings of it not coming in is where it needs to be,” DiLucente said.

Essentially, Bey’s previous arrests or convictions were not to be mentioned in front of a jury to avoid swaying their decisions. The witness’ response violated that agreement.

“Mistrials come in all shapes and sizes,” DiLucente said.

But how often do mistakes like this happen?

“It’s not just because a witness gets up and says something that they shouldn’t a lot of times the lawyers inadvertently might make a mistake sometimes the witness and other times the jury may just stay out for a long time.”

And now nearly four years after officer Hall has been laid to rest, what will happen next for his family who’ve been patiently waiting for justice?

“The good part is that this happened in the first two days of the trial instead of the last two days of maybe a two-week of a month-long trial. They’re prepared now pick another jury,” DiLucente explained.

A new trial has already been scheduled for next Tuesday, March 21. Jury selection will begin on Wednesday, and Bey will remain in jail during this entire process.

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