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Another figure from Brilla slaying appears
A North Franklin Township man who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a 2002 murder at a North Strabane Township bar went Wednesday before a federal grand jury investigating former Washington County District Attorney John C. Pettit.
Dirk L. Barfield, 44, of 138 Hamilton St., said he "didn't talk" as he was escorted from the grand jury room at the federal courthouse in Pittsburgh. Barfield wore an orange jail uniform and was cuffed at the wrists and ankles.
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Barfield, along with Gerald Gregg of Canton Township and Carl (Tony) Cohen of Washington, were arrested for the murders of Fred Brilla, 50, of Canonsburg, and bartender Martin Brahler, 40, of Venetia, at Price's Tavern.
Gregg, however, was acquitted of the charges following a jury trial in 2005. Both Barfield and Cohen were prosecution witnesses during the trial. They implicated Gregg as being the shooter in the murders.
Barfield and Cohen later pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy to commit robbery in connection with the double homicide and were sentenced to 1 year less a day to 2 years less a day in jail with credit for time served, followed by 2 years of probation.
Barfield was released in April 2007, but about six weeks later he was back in jail facing a parole revocation for drug charges. He was sentenced to 6 to 12 months in jail. The November following his release, Barfield was again picked up and jailed on drug charges.
In August, a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh indicted Barfield on charges of violating federal firearm laws. He is accused of possessing a firearm on Oct. 19, 2003, just two weeks before the murders. He was also charged for having a gun on Nov. 15 during a traffic stop.
Barfield is a convicted felon. Federal law bars convicted felons from possessing firearms.
On Tuesday, Mary Barton Mahoney of Washington appeared before the grand jury. She also testified against Gregg during his murder trial.
Mahoney testified that she and Barfield were at the bar at the time of the murders.
At the time of his death, Pettit owed Brilla about $100,000 in punitive damages after a jury found Pettit guilty in a federal court for refusing to return possessions to Brilla seized during drug raids in 1989.
Pettit then came under scrutiny for his role in the murder case that resulted in the acquittal of a lead defendant and for allegedly giving preferential treatment to favored defendants and deals to "jailhouse snitches." There also have been other allegations of wrongdoing by Pettit during his 24 years in office.
Federal investigators attended the Gregg trial.
In January, a new grand jury was seated as part of the Pettit investigation. The members have met every month since.
