Whisper
#byefelicia
PITTSBURGH
<Monicca Gay
<Charles Cabiness
<
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/cnn-news/20509891/detail.html-- Pittsburgh police are searching for a man who unknowingly slipped through their grasp just hours after they say he killed a woman who was cooperating in a homicide case against his brother in St. Clair Village.
Monnica Gay
Homicide detectives have a warrant for 26-year-old Charles Cabiness, 26, who's accused of pointing a gun at Monnica Gay's head on Cresswell Street and shooting the 38-year-old Wilkinsburg woman while she was visiting her sister to baby-sit just before noon Saturday.
WTAE Channel 4's Shannon Perrine reported that Cabiness was a passenger in a car that was stopped by police for an unrelated matter on Saturday night -- after Gay was killed but before they knew Cabiness was a suspect -- and Cabiness was not detained at that time.
The housing complex where Gay -- a mother and a grandmother -- was slain is the same one where she and her family mourned the May 14 death of her brother, Davon Young.
On Monday, police said Gay had been a witness in the case against her brother's suspected killer, Luzay Watson, and was set to testify at Watson's homicide trial but declined an offer to go into a protection program.
"Surely, we want to do everything we can possible to keep them safe," Cmdr. Thomas Stangrecki said. "But as I said, we can't kidnap them and put them in witness protection. ... (We can) offer, suggest, persuade them to come into the program, especially if there is a safety concern."
Cresswell Street in St. Clair Village
Shortly after 11:30 a.m. Saturday, witnesses apparently saw a man run up to Gay and shoot her, but police said they're concerned that nobody is coming forward with information about the shooter, even though people saw what happened on that bright weekend morning just two days ago.
"Unless we start solving these crimes, they tend to continue," Stangrecki said.
At a Monday afternoon news conference, Pittsburgh police said Cabiness is Watson's brother and was likely trying to silence Gay before she could stand up against Watson in court.
Gay's stepfather, Richard Forton, said Gay had been the target of threats before her death. He told Channel 4 Action News, "I know that they had, or was like, 'If you testify against my brother, we're going to kill you.'"
Pittsburgh PD
Pittsburgh police obtain an arrest warrant for Charles Cabiness in a fatal shooting at the St. Clair Village housing complex.
Cabiness is described as black, 5 feet 9 inches tall, about 165 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. His last known address was Stranmore Street on the North Side and he's considered to be armed and dangerous, police said.
Records show Cabiness has a record dating back more than 10 years with charges that include marijuana possession, burglary, harassment, trespass, assault, possession with intent to deliver and fleeing and eluding police.
Anyone who has information regarding Gay's death or Cabiness' whereabouts is urged to call Pittsburgh police homicide detectives at 412-323-7161. Callers can remain anonymous.
It's unclear how Gay's death will affect the prosecution's case against Watson. Police said they do have the money and resources necessary to protect witnesses of violent crimes, and people under protection sometimes need to move but it's worth it if they can help prosecute homicide cases.
"Up unto this point, there wasn't much of a concern in the Davon Young case because there was no other threats out there," Stangrecki said. "However, with Ms. Gay being killed, we certainly are reaching out to any conceivable witness and offering services."