19-year-old Pittsburgh man charged in deadly Allentown shooting

Brian C. Rittmeyer, The Valley News-Dispatch, Tarentum, Pa.
·2 min read

Jan. 27—A 19-year-old man from Pittsburgh's St. Clair neighborhood has been charged in a fatal shooting in the city's Allentown section.

James Linnert faces a single charge of criminal homicide in connection with the Jan. 20 death of Joshua Hamilton, also 19, who had been shot in the neck and arm at a residence in the 800 block of Loyal Way.

Police used fingerprints to identify Hamilton.

A criminal complaint filed against Linnert said officers responded to the shooting shortly after 10 p.m. A witness told police that Linnert had shot the victim, who was in the kitchen. An officer detained Linnert and placed him in a police vehicle.

While searching the residence, police said a detective saw two firearms, a rifle and a shotgun, and a bandolier of shotgun shells on the front porch. Shotgun shells also were seen in the living room.

In the kitchen, where Hamilton was found, police said they found a semiautomatic pistol on the floor and spent shotgun shells.

The witness told police they were upstairs when they heard the men arguing and then a bang. The men had brought guns to the house because they were going to a shooting range, the witness told police.

The complaint said the witness reported going downstairs after hearing the bang and saw Hamilton down on the kitchen floor, and Linnert told the witness to call 911.

The witness told police that Linner told them he tried to disarm Hamilton after Hamilton pointed a shotgun at him, and he said Hamilton's finger must have been on the trigger and it went off when he pushed the gun away, the complaint said.

Police said a pathologist with the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office determined it would not have been possible for Hamilton to have pulled the trigger on the shotgun and cause the wounds he received. Hamilton's death was ruled a homicide from gunshot wounds to the neck.

The complaint did not include any information directly from Linnert or indicate if police had interviewed him. He did not have an attorney listed in court records.

Linnert was arrested Wednesday. He was sent to Allegheny County Jail after being denied bail when he was arraigned early Thursday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 2.

Brian C. Rittmeyer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Brian at 724-226-4701, brittmeyer@triblive.com or via Twitter .