Girlfriend of Donora shooting suspect held for court
The girlfriend of one of the men accused of fatally shooting a Donora convenience store worker last February was ordered to stand trial on criminal conspiracy involving homicide and other charges despite no testimony that she was at the scene of the killing.
Jah Zhannee Inifi Sutton, 27, of Homewood, was held for court on the conspiracy charge along with possessing an instrument of crime during her preliminary hearing Thursday afternoon in the case involving the Feb. 24 shooting death of Nicholas Tarpley at Anna Lee’s Convenience Store.
State police Trooper Adam Janosko testified that Sutton’s DNA could not be excluded from that found on shell casings investigators located inside the convenience store at 501 Allen Ave. in Donora. However, Janosko also testified that he had no evidence that Sutton was at the scene, although it was “possible” she could have been outside the store.
Sutton was arrested July 29 after she was at a Monroeville motel with her boyfriend, Sidney Devon McLean, who is one of the two men accused of killing Tarpley. McLean, 33, of McKeesport, and Devell Dexter Christian, 32, of White Oak, were charged in late July and accused of walking into the store and shooting Tarpley, 28, multiple times while he made a sandwich for a customer. Both are awaiting trial on homicide and other charges, and could face the death penalty, if convicted.
Sutton was not charged until early Dec. 8 in the case.
Sutton’s attorney, Mark Adams, argued that there was no evidence that she conspired in the killing of Tarpley, while First Assistant District Attorney Leslie Ridge noted the possibility of Sutton’s DNA being on the shell casings showed she had some involvement.
Following the brief preliminary hearing in Washington County Central Court, District Judge Mark Wilson ordered Sutton to stand trial on the charges. She is being held without bond.