A Pittsburgh man will spend the rest of his life in prison after a judge on Monday found him guilty of first-degree murder stemming from a fatal shooting in Mt. Oliver.
Daleron Newman, 26, will receive the mandatory penalty when he is formally sentenced on Jan. 21.
Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Bruce Beemer found Newman guilty on Monday following a two-day nonjury trial last week.
Newman was charged with killing Timothy Coates, 20, around 7:20 p.m. on Aug. 30, 2022.
Police were called to Dawes and Frederick streets in Mt. Oliver where they found Coates inside a car with multiple gunshot wounds, including at close range to his head.
He died at the scene.
Prior to announcing his verdict on Monday, Beemer recounted the evidence in the case that led to his decision.
According to the judge, Newman, who was on electronic home monitoring at the time, made plans to meet up with Coates that day to buy marijuana.
Records from the probation office showed that Newman had an unauthorized absence on his electronic monitoring bracelet from 6:46 p.m. to 7:22 p.m. that evening.
The prosecutor presented evidence that during that time Coates picked Newman up, Beemer said, and that the two drove to a liquor store on the South Side together, where they bought multiple bottles of alcohol.
They then returned to the area near Coates’ home.
The 911 call reporting the shooting was placed 2 seconds after 7:20 p.m.
While defense attorney Patrick Thomassey argued it would have been impossible for his client to have shot Coates and gotten home in that short period of time, Beemer disagreed.
Google maps shows the distances between locations as approximately 0.2 miles.
“He had ample opportunity to return to the home and send texts to cover up his involvement,” the judge said.
In addition to that evidence, Beemer noted that police found Newman’s identification on the front, passenger floor of Coates’ vehicle, and the gun used to kill Coates had previously been purchased by Newman’s girlfriend.