The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office is asking a judge to impose a gag order in connection with a case involving last week’s fatal shooting at the Pittsburgh Motel.
The petition for nondisclosure order, filed Wednesday morning by District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., is aimed at halting the dissemination of a surveillance video that captured the fatal shooting of Rakesh Bhagavan, a clerk at the motel.
The petition is expected to be heard by Common Pleas Court Judge Edward Borkowski at a date to be determined.
Authorities say that Stanley Eugene West shot and killed Bhagavan after shooting and critically wounding a woman in a domestic dispute on Oct. 3. That shooting occurred in the motel parking lot, according to a criminal complaint that charges West with one count each of criminal homicide, attempted homicide and recklessly endangering another person.
West fled the scene in a U-Haul van and later was wounded after he opened fire on officers who found the U-Haul he was driving in the East Hills area of Pittsburgh, according to the complaint.
He had been hospitalized after the shootout, but his condition is not known.
According to the petition for nondisclosure order, video was obtained from the surveillance system located at the Pittsburgh Motel, and that surveillance video has since begun circulating on Instagram as well as on traditional media outlets.
As of the time the petition was written, the video had been “liked” by users over 18,000 times and “shared” nearly 27,000 times.
According to the petition, the video graphically depicts the shooting of Bhagavan from point-blank range, with the camera situated close to the shooting.
The petition states that it’s not known who originally disseminated the video, but that if it’s permitted to continue circulating, it could interfere with West’s right to a fair and impartial trial.
The petition asks Borkowski to enter an order barring “parties, witnesses and potential witnesses and court personnel” from making any statements out of court regarding the matter that could compromise any court proceeding. The petition also seeks to prevent the dissemination of any evidence that may be in someone’s possession that has not been duly entered into evidence and made part of the public record.
The petition asks that anyone who violates the order should be appropriately sanctioned. The petition asks that the order apply to any future counsel who would represent West, who hadn’t obtained counsel at the time the petition was filed.
According to the criminal complaint filed by a detective with the county police department’s homicide unit, surveillance footage obtained from the motel shows that the incident began a little before 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, when a woman and a juvenile in a black sedan were attempting to back out of a parking spot adjacent to one of the motel units. At that point, a man later identified as West was observed at the front passenger door with the door opened.
As the vehicle began moving forward toward the motel exit, the man shot into the black sedan, spraying window glass onto the parking lot. The vehicle then zigzagged toward the exit with the man chasing behind. The vehicle then turned into a nearby business for medical assistance.
The woman was transferred to Presbyterian Hospital, where she was initially listed in critical condition. The woman’s child, who was in the back seat when the shooting occurred, was not injured.
According to the complaint, the shooter walked back to the motel and headed toward the office. Bhagavan asked the man, “Are you all right, bud?” The man continued walking toward Bhagavan and then shot him in the head, the complaint states.
The man then walked to a U-Haul van, which had been parked next to the black sedan in the motel parking lot, and drove away. According to the complaint, a driver’s license on file with the motel identified the shooter as Stanley Eugene West, 37, and a check of the vehicle registration returned West’s name as well.
West was taken into custody shortly after 2:30 p.m. following the shootout on Wilner Drive in which he and a city police detective were injured and required hospitalization. The detective who was injured in the incident was discharged from the hospital by Saturday morning.
A county police spokesman said Wednesday afternoon the woman shot in the motel parking lot remained hospitalized, but her condition was not available.
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