Jury convicts North Side man in 2016 slaying of teenage girl

A jury on Friday convicted a North Side man of second-degree murder in the 2016 killing of a teenage girl in a drug deal gone wrong, according to the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office.

Douglas Lockett Jr., 20, was also convicted by the Allegheny County jury of robbery and conspiracy in the killing of 17-year-old Daija McCall. Sentencing is set for July 16.

McCall was killed in a midday volley of bullets in Pittsburgh's Homewood section Sept. 17, 2016. Police were alerted to the shooting by ShotSpotter about 3:10 p.m. They found McCall lying in the street near the intersection of Mt. Vernon and Belmar streets.

The shooting was a drug deal gone wrong among McCall and three others, including Lockett. McCall intended to sell a half-kilo of cocaine to the three, but their plan all along was to rob McCall.

Lockett dropped his cell phone as he fled the murder scene, and he explained to a witness in detail how the killing happened, police said. He said the robbery fell apart when McCall pulled a gun of her own. That gun, along with the drugs, was found next to her body.

The jury began deliberating Thursday morning and returned a verdict of Common Pleas Judge Edward Borkowski about 2 p.m. the following day.

Steven Cansler, 18, was also charged in McCall's killing. A date has not yet been set for his trial.

Megan Guza is a Tribune-Review staff writer.