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Man in black handcuffed, escorted out of trial in Clairton officer's shooting
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A man was removed this afternoon from the courtroom where an attempted homicide trial is continuing in the shooting and paralyzing of a Clairton police officer last year during a home invasion.
Marcus Andrejco and Emilio Rivera are on trial on charges that they broke into a home on Miller Avenue in Clairton on April 4, 2011, and shot Officer James Kuzak as he responded.
During the testimony of a cooperating witness against Mr. Rivera the man said that four or five days after Mr. Rivera's arrest, he was threatened by one of the man's brothers.
When the threat occurred, the witness said Mr. Rivera's brother was accompanied by at least two other people.
Deputy District Attorney Daniel Fitzsimmons asked the witness if he had seen either of those other people again, and the man answered, "Yes. Today, in the courthouse. In the courtroom."
When asked to point the man out, he identified a person sitting in the back row of Judge Edward J. Borkowski's courtroom, wearing all black.
Once the witness completed his testimony and left the courtroom, a sheriff's deputy asked the man identified to step outside, and handcuffed him in the hall.
The man, Paul Harper, will be questioned by Allegheny County police and could face charges of witness intimidation.
The trial was not interrupted and is expected to continue through next week.
First Published August 3, 2012 4:47 pm
