Woman Sentenced To Prison For Hindering Arrest Of Alleged Cop Killer

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GREENSBURG (KDKA) -- A woman who hindered the capture of a man who allegedly killed a police officer was in court Friday.

Suspect Lakita Cain was optimistic as she faced sentencing for trying to throw investigators off the trail of accused cop killer Rahmael Sal Holt.

"When I came downstairs to see her this morning, I went down earlier to see her, she was so happy to see me," Cain's attorney, Valerie Veltri, said. "I told her I was gonna ask for credit for time served."

Instead of letting Cain out on 11 months time served, Judge Rita Hathaway went outside sentencing guidelines.

"She got three to seven years for it," Veltri said. "She's pretty upset. We didn't expect it."

Prosecutors say Cain allegedly let Holt into her New Kensington home shortly after Officer Brian Shaw was murdered in November 2017 and while Holt was there, he stashed the potential murder weapon in the basement.

"A person came to her house and she allegedly lied. That's the crime that happened," Veltri said.

Cain told investigators Holt was never there or that there may be a gun inside the house, a gun that was gone when detectives went back to look for it.

"Again, a tragic case, but there's no eyewitness. There's no gun," Holt's defense attorney, Tim Dawson, said.

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Following Cain's sentencing, Holt was next in the courtroom for pretrial motions. One of the items discussed was Holt's marriage plans to his girlfriend and potential witness Vanessa Portis.

"Rahmael Holt at this time is not going to or intend to marry anybody," Dawson said.

Dawson says Shaw's real killer may be a mystery man in the car with Holt and Tavon Harper the night of the killing.

"It's our job to find any witness we can. Obviously, that would be a critical witness because it could be a potential shooter," Dawson said.

Facing capital murder, Holt's trial is tentatively set for April 1.