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The Shootings: Putting the pieces together The people who knew Ronald Taylor say they thought of him as 'a nice young fellow' Saturday, March 04, 2000 By Mike Rosenwald and Michael A. Fuoco, Post-Gazette Staff Writers
Correction/Clarification (Published March 5, 2000): A line was omitted from an article yesterday about Wilkinsburg shooting suspect Ronald Taylor. Mike Manko, spokesman for Allegheny County district attorney's office, was responding to a question about whether the death penalty would apply in Taylor's case and whether it would be sought if it did, when he said, "Obviously, it is something we'll consider in the course of our investigation."
The idea that Ronald Taylor could one day go on a deadly shooting spree is still incredibly difficult to believe for David Ellis, a janitor at an East Liberty apartment building who knew Taylor when he lived there for more than eight years.
"He never caused any trouble that I knew of," Ellis said yesterday.
Another acquaintance, a woman who grew up with Taylor in the Hill District, said shooting five people -- and killing three of them -- was not something she could picture him doing.
And neither Ellis nor the woman believed Taylor was a racist. When he showed up on their TV screens and in their newspapers as the man accused of the deadly shootings in Wilkinsburg, both were stunned.
"When I knew him, he was a terrific guy," said Ellis, who has worked at Penn Plaza Apartments at 59 Penn Circle West for the last five years. "He kept to himself. He had good manners. He was a nice young fellow."
Taylor has said he lived in the East Liberty apartment complex for more than eight years before moving to an apartment in Wilkinsburg last summer.
"He had real bad asthma," Ellis said. "He didn't want me using any chemicals in his apartment."
Ellis said Taylor's efficiency apartment at the end of a narrow hallway on the third floor was still vacant. He remembers that Taylor kept it clean. There was nothing hanging on the walls to suggest he hated white people, as some of the charges against him suggest. What sticks out in Ellis' mind are pictures of trains.
The woman, who also lives in East Liberty and asked that her name not be used, said that when they were growing up in the Hill District, "You really had to push to get him agitated."
"He was a shy kid who was never in trouble," she said. "I never saw him hurt anyone."
And despite reports Taylor had a history of mental illness -- which he acknowledged at an arraignment on Thursday -- neither knew him to exhibit any such problems.
Yesterday, Taylor was arraigned on another homicide charge in the Allegheny County coroner's office. Deputy Coroner Timothy G. Uhrich detailed the charge lodged against him in the death of Emil Sanielevici, 20, of Greenfield.
Sanielevici, the fifth man shot in Wednesday morning's rampage, died in UPMC Presbyterian at 6:15 p.m. Thursday.
He was shot in the head at point-blank range as he sat in his car in McDonald's drive-through lane.
For the third straight day, Taylor seemed confused about the charges against him.
Asked by Uhrich if he understood the charge, Taylor said nothing for a moment, turned his palms upward and said, "I'm not sure."
Uhrich suggested he take a moment to confer with his attorney, Sharon Ecker Terra, the daughter of James M. Ecker, who represents Taylor but was not at yesterday's arraignment.
"Your honor, we will explain it in more depth to him," Terra said.
Uhrich again asked Taylor if he understood the charge. Again, Taylor stared back at him, appearing confused.
"Enough to proceed," Terra said.\
Uhrich then informed Taylor of his constitutional rights. Asked if he understood them, Taylor said nothing for a moment, and then, "Ah ... yes."
Following the two-minute arraignment, Taylor was returned to the county jail. His coroner's hearing on the three homicide charges is scheduled for March 13.
Mike Manko, spokesman for Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., said the office had begun to debrief law enforcement officials involved in the investigation in preparation for prosecuting Taylor.
Responding to a question about whether the death penalty would apply in the case and whether it would be sought if it did, Manko said, "Obviously, it is something we'll consider in the course of our investigation."
Other information about Taylor is coming out slowly.
It was learned yesterday that Taylor was receiving Supplemental Security Income and food stamp benefits totaling between $600 and $700 a month.
There is no record of him ever serving in a branch of the U.S. military.
Taylor attended Fifth Avenue High School until it closed in 1976 when he transferred to Brashear. In 1978 to he transferred to Letsche Education Center.
Lynne Turnquist, a spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh Public Schools, said she could not say why he was at Letsche, an alternative high school for pregnant, mildly disruptive students and students who have fallen behind in classes.
He got a General Educational Development certificate at Conley Technical Institute, an adult education center, but Turnquist said she didn't know when it was obtained.
Staff writer Bill Heltzel contributed to this report.
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