Jurors in Allegheny County are now sifting through grainy surveillance footage and starkly different stories in the killing of 36-year-old Corey Washington, who was shot during a child custody exchange in the parking lot of a Family Dollar on Brighton Road in Pittsburgh's Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood on Dec. 26, 2022.
Trial opened Monday for Ambrose Sample Jr., the man prosecutors say pulled the trigger, in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. In opening statements before Judge Bruce Beemer, jurors watched security video that prosecutors say shows Washington and the child's mother, Tanisha Turner, arriving separately for the handoff shortly before the shooting.
Assistant District Attorney Emily Shanahan told jurors that Sample "purposely shot and killed" Washington and made "three deliberate decisions" to fire. She urged them to focus on each moment the trigger was pulled, according to TribLive.
Sample was arrested in January 2023 in the 200 block of Dinwiddie Street after a SWAT operation and was charged with criminal homicide, carrying a firearm without a license, and related counts, according to local reporting. Pittsburgh Public Safety said the shooting appeared to follow an altercation at a nearby business and that Washington later died at Allegheny General Hospital. Court filings also note Sample had a prior homicide conviction and could face life in prison, per CBS News.
Defense attorney Ryan Tutera countered that Sample was not out looking for a fight but reacted to protect his girlfriend after Washington allegedly struck her, telling jurors, "My client is innocent of these allegations." Witnesses, including Makeisha Turner and Washington's then-17-year-old daughter, testified that Washington turned and tried to walk away when the shots rang out. Surveillance video showed Sample fleeing the scene, as reported by TribLive.
Legal stakes and next steps
Sample faces charges of criminal homicide, carrying a firearm without a license, and terroristic threats. Prosecutors argue the shooting was a calculated killing. The defense insists it was a split-second decision to defend someone from harm.
Court records and reporting note that Sample could face life in prison on the homicide count if convicted, and the trial is expected to continue for several days with additional testimony and evidence, according to WTAE. No verdict has been reached.
Jurors will ultimately have to decide whether Sample's actions meet Pennsylvania's legal standard for justifiable use of force or amount to criminal homicide, weighing the surveillance footage against conflicting witness accounts. Court officials have not yet set a date for closing arguments or for when the jury will begin deliberations.
