Feb 25, 2026 By Mike Jones 4 min read

Investigators initially had four suspects in the fatal 2022 shooting of Jaisen Irwin at Bob’s Tavern in Finleyville, but eventually narrowed it down and accused Keaundre Crews of being the alleged gunman, according to testimony on the fourth day of his homicide trial.

In addition to Crews, investigators considered his friend Elijah White, Maurissa Spencer – who was with Irwin when he was shot in the passenger seat of her car – and her fiance, Brian Hunter, according to testimony from Detective Matthew Collins of the Washington County District Attorney’s office.

Collins testified that investigators pulled surveillance video from the Sheetz gasoline station in Monongahela – a few blocks from where the initial altercation between White, Crews and Irwin at Jim’s Bar – that showed White in the store talking on his cellphone shortly after midnight on Oct. 10 less than an hour before the shooting occurred in Finleyville.

Surveillance video showed White leaving the store at 1:01 a.m. and location records from his cellphone revealed he arrived at his home in Donora six minutes later. Two minutes after that, Irwin, 29, of Monessen, was shot to death outside Bob’s Tavern nearly a dozen miles from White’s home.

“You would agree that Donora is the opposite side of Finleyville?” Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh asked Collins.

“Complete opposite,” Collins responded.

While at the Sheetz, White had three brief calls with Crews between 12:32 and 12:48 a.m. White has never been charged, although he did throw his drink at Irwin while at Jim’s Bar in Monongahela during the altercation there.

Spencer was also considered a suspect due to her alleged acts after the shooting where she pushed Irwin’s body out of the car and onto the side of the road a short distance from Bob’s Tavern before driving her bullet-riddled car to her aunt’s home in Union Township. While there, she called Hunter, who was her fiance, to pick her up and take her home. On the drive from there, Spencer and Hunter allegedly ditched Irwin’s phone, which has never been recovered.

Spencer initially lied about her connection with Irwin, telling investigators that they were friends before later admitting they were in a romantic relationship, Collins said.

Defense attorney Kenneth Haber questioned why the Library home Spencer shared with Hunter was never searched, nor was her aunt’s Union Township house. Police did apparently search Spencer’s mother’s home in South Park, but found no evidence there. Haber also asked why police also did not search Hunter’s pickup truck, prompting Collins to respond that he had been ruled out as a suspect.

Haber said Spencer was caught “lying, concealing, destroying (evidence) and misleading” investigators during an initial interview, raising questions why they did not look closer at Spencer and Hunter. Spencer, 27, has since been charged with homicide, conspiracy, hindering prosecution, evidence tampering and reckless endangerment, although she is free on unsecured bond and testified earlier at trial.

“You never looked in their home for the murder weapon?” Haber asked, noting the handgun used to kill Irwin has never been recovered.

A witness to the shooting who was living in an upstairs apartment above Bob’s Tavern described the shooter to police as a thin, tall man, according to earlier testimony. But Collins said Hunter, who has not been charged, is heavy set and he was not considered a prime suspect.

“He’s a very large man,” Collins said. “You cannot mistake his description.”

The investigation appears to have zeroed in on Crews early as investigators searched his Grange Road home in Fallowfield Township the day after the shooting and seized his SUV and a cellphone that was inside. But they only took a white track suit he wore to Jim’s Bar – which was found in the washing machine – from his house and found no evidence there connecting him to the shooting, which Haber claimed showed that investigators focused only on Crews.

After a lengthy and sometimes contentious cross-examination between Haber and Collins, the prosecution rested its case.

After being informed of his right to remain silent, Crews declined to take the stand in his own defense and Haber submitted five exhibits without calling any witnesses before he rested as well. Crews, 32, is charged with homicide, conspiracy, prohibited possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm without a license.

Judge John DiSalle told the jury of seven women and five men that closing statements would begin at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Washington County Courthouse, with deliberations expected to begin around lunchtime.