A jury has convicted a 48-year-old Homewood man of first-degree murder for chasing down and fatally shooting another man outside a bar in Pittsburgh’s Hill District nearly three years ago. Deshawn Wallace was also found guilty of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment of another person in the January 2024 shooting that killed 30-year-old Derrick Eggleton and wounded a second victim.
According to the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office, Wallace and Eggleton got into an argument outside the bar on Jan. 31, 2024, before Wallace pulled out a firearm and opened fire on Eggleton and another man. When Eggleton tried to run, prosecutors said Wallace chased him down the street and shot him three times in all.
Eggleton was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead, the District Attorney's Office said. The second victim suffered a gunshot wound to the arm and survived. Investigators said they were able to identify Wallace as the shooter through a combination of video surveillance footage and witness statements.
Gunfire Erupted Near Webster Avenue and Lawson Street
The shooting unfolded near Webster Avenue and Lawson Street in the Hill District, according to an earlier report from WTAE, which said emergency responders were dispatched to the area that night after reports of gunfire. That same report described Eggleton as having been shot in the abdomen before he was taken to a hospital, where he later died. A roundup of 2024 Allegheny County homicides published by TribLive also noted that Eggleton, 30, of Pittsburgh, died at UPMC Mercy Hospital after being shot in the Hill District.
Nearly three years passed between the shooting and this week's verdict, as the case moved through the courts. The conviction closes out a lengthy chapter for Eggleton's family, who had spoken publicly in the shooting's immediate aftermath, per the earlier WTAE account.
DA Zappala Addresses Eggleton's Family
District Attorney Stephen Zappala addressed Eggleton's family directly following the verdict, saying the office hoped the conviction could bring some relief after nearly three years of waiting. “We truly hope that today's conviction can provide some measure of justice and comfort to you,” Zappala said, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Wallace is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 1, 2027, prosecutors said. As WPXI reported, the verdict brings an end to the trial phase of a case that began with a January 2024 shooting outside a Hill District bar and ultimately led to a first-degree murder conviction for Wallace.
