Rahmael Holt gets court-appointed attorneys to defend him in New Kensington cop shooting
Two private lawyers were appointed Wednesday to represent the Allegheny County man awaiting trial for the murder of New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw.
Rahmael Sal Holt, 29, of Harrison appeared in court for a hearing to update the status of his case.
When Holt appeared without a lawyer, attorneys Tim Dawson and James Robinson were appointed by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Rita Hathaway to represent him.
District Attorney John Peck has said he will seek the death penalty against Holt if he is convicted of first-degree murder for shooting Shaw on Leishman Avenue in New Kensington on Nov. 17.
The prosecution contends Holt killed Shaw following a traffic stop. Holt was arrested in Pittsburgh after a manhunt that lasted several days.
Following the brief court hearing Wednesday, Dawson and Robinson met with Holt for the first time in a courthouse holding cell.
Both are private attorneys; the county will pay them $60 an hour to work on Holt's case.
Holt told Hathaway he hasn't been able to hire an attorney and that he submitted an application to be represented by the county's public defender's office.
“Public Defender Wayne McGrew said the public defender's office can't represent you due to a conflict of interest,” Hathaway said.
The public defender's office currently represents the driver of the sport utility vehicle that Shaw pulled over during the traffic stop. McGrew said the driver is expected to be a witness in the case against Holt.
Holt had John-Earl Ketchel, a private attorney based in Pittsburgh, represent him during a preliminary hearing in December.
When Holt appeared before Hathaway last month, he told the judge he intended to hire another private lawyer, Marc Daffner of Pittsburgh.
The judge said Dawson and Robinson are qualified to represent defendants in death penalty cases.
The two attorneys currently are defending Melvin Knight of Swissvale, who is facing a potential death sentence for the 2010 torture slaying of Jennifer Daugherty, a mentally challenged Mt. Pleasant woman, in Greensburg. Knight's sentencing hearing is scheduled to begin in July.
Holt's trial has not been scheduled. He will appear again in court with his new lawyers in May.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.
