Cheron Shelton, Acquitted In Murder Of Six People In Wilkinsburg, Sues County Police

By: Shelley Bortz

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A federal prison inmate acquitted of killing six people and an unborn child in a 2016 mass shooting in Wilkinsburg is suing Allegheny County police for malicious prosecution.

Cheron Shelton filed the suit in federal court on Friday and he followed his co-defendant, Robert Thomas, who filed last week, alleging similar claims.

Allegheny County Police said that the two ambushed a group of family and friends at a barbecue in March 2016.

They claimed Thomas shot a pistol from the front of the house to get them to the back porch where Shelton shot them with an assault rifle.

Shelton was found not guilty and Thomas' case was thrown out.

In Shelton's lawsuit, he accuses police of misconduct, saying they relied on three informants, even though their statements contradicted the evidence.

Because of that, Shelton spent four years in prison and faced the death penalty if convicted.

Shelton is serving an eight-year federal prison term for possession of a stolen gun.