2nd man charged in connection with 2023 fatal shooting in Jeannette

Charges were filed Wednesday against a second man in connection with a 2023 fatal shooting in Jeannette.

Deshawn Russell, 27, of Pittsburgh, was awaiting arraignment on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, conspiracy and related offenses.

The second set of charges comes a day after Maleek Dionte Green, 27, of Pittsburgh, was arraigned on identical charges related to the June 9, 2023, death of Brianna Lartz at a home on Lowry Avenue. Three others were hurt.

Green was arrested in North Carolina earlier this month and was extradited to Pennsylvania. He now is being held at the Westmoreland County Prison without bond. He did not have an attorney listed in online court records. An April 24 preliminary hearing is set.

Lartz was at a friend’s home that evening when gunfire broke out around 9:30 p.m. In the immediate aftermath, authorities said they wanted to talk to Russell, who has a child with Lartz.

Police said in court papers that there were text message discussions indicating a drug deal was planned at the Lowry Avenue home. A witness told authorities she saw Green and Russell shooting guns inside the house.

Investigators reported finding evidence there and in several neighboring streets. Green was among those injured in the shooting.

Lartz lived in Jeannette and was a graduate of Greater Latrobe School District. Russell is serving a 5- to 10-year sentence at a state prison on a weapons violation from a 2022 shooting outside Sail’s Inn in Uniontown, according to court records. He did not have an attorney listed in the new case.