Wilkinsburg Mass Shooting Witness Charged With Threatening Judge

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A man described as a "key witness" in a deadly mass shooting in Wilkinsburg is charged with threatening a judge.

According to a police criminal complaint, Frederick Collins launched into an expletive-filled outburst during a court hearing on April 26. He was there to be sentenced in a separate case that dates back to 2015. He reportedly wanted to fire his attorney and have a new court ordered attorney.

When Judge Donna Jo McDaniel refused his request, Collins reportedly said, "If you sentence me, I'm going to blow your (expletive) face off."

The criminal complaint quotes Collins as making several, more obscene statements toward the judge. He also made reference to the judge's grandchildren.

Judge McDaniel sentenced Collins to 6 to 12 years in prison and he was removed from the courtroom.

Collins was charged Monday with making terroristic threats and retaliation against a prosecutor or judicial official.

Collins, whose nickname in the Allegheny County Jail is "psycho," is listed as a witness in the case against Cheron Shelton and Robert Thomas - the two men charged in the 2016 Wilkinsburg mass shooting that killed five people and an unborn child.

It's unclear how the new charges will affect his role as a witness in the Wilkinsburg mass shooting case.

Shelton and Thomas are facing murder charges.

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