Cookout Ambush Trial Opens

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Trial has opened for one man as charges were dismissed against his co-defendant in the slayings of five people and an unborn baby at a western Pennsylvania cookout almost four years ago. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward Borkowski on Monday granted a defense motion to dismiss the case against 31-year-old Robert Thomas in the March 2016 killings in Pittsburgh’s Wilkinsburg suburb. The defense sought dismissal after prosecutors decided against putting a key witness on the stand. Testimony began Monday against 33-year-old Cheron Shelton. Prosecutors say they plan to seek capital punishment in the event of a first-degree murder conviction.