Confession, Wiretap Argued In Clairton Home Invasion Case

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Two men charged in a home invasion that injured a part-time Clairton police officer were in court.

Their attorneys want a key piece of evidence thrown out.

According to a detective on the stand Wednesday, Marcus Andrejco first denied any knowledge of the home invasion that resulted in the shooting of Officer James Kuzak who now uses a wheelchair.

But once he learned police developed other evidence placing him there and learned the severity of Kuzak's injuries, he broke down.

"Andrejco was very emotional. He was crying," Allegheny County Police Detective Timothy Langan testified.

"He said, 'It went bad. The lick went bad. They got in there so fast.'"

But what happened within the hours that led to the confession amounts to coercion, argues his lawyer, Ralph Karsh, who says the confession should not be admitted.

"There are many evidentiary issues in this case and they will become clear as trial goes on and I am confident that they will help establish my client's innocence," he said.

The detective also testified that Andrejco pointed the finger at Travis Evans, claiming he as an accomplice.

Evans was arrested, but the charges were later dropped.

The hearing also revealed that investigators put a wire on a cooperating witness to get information from Emilio Rivera.

Rivera's lawyer, Frank Walker, wants that evidence thrown out as well.

"Well there's some concerns to make sure they have the proper level of suspicion or probable cause needed to go forward with the wiretap," he said. "There's varying levels in Pennsylvania – make sure they had that level to go forward with my client the wiretap before that can be admissible in court."

This hearing continues Friday. It will determine what evidence will be used when the case goes to trial in April.

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