Security guard charged in Penn Hills hookah bar killing says gun accidentally discharged

Police said they don’t believe the security guard who is accused of killing a woman at a Penn Hills hookah bar last month had any motive to shoot her, but he will face trial for criminal homicide.

Chaz Jackson, 42, of Pittsburgh was charged in connection with the death of Stephanie Stuart, 28, at Ballers Hookah Lounge & Cigar Bar on Laketon Road in the early morning of June 2.

Jackson was working as an armed security guard at the lounge when Stuart and Nathaniel Smiley, 44, of Pittsburgh were killed in the club. An additional four men and three women were hurt in the gunfire, according to police.

Jackson is suspected only of killing Stuart; police believe a different shooter killed Smiley.

In a preliminary hearing Friday, Allegheny County homicide Detective William Hermann said police identified Jackson’s ammunition as matching the bullet that struck Stuart in the back of the head. It also matched bullet fragments that wounded a second victim in the bar that night, Alesha Green.

The bullets Jackson used, Hermann said, had a unique blue polymer coating.

Allegheny County homicide Detective Blake Maloney testified that Jackson told him he saw a car parked illegally outside the bar. He said he went inside to alert the owner when he heard gunshots.

Jackson then told detectives he pulled out his firearm but was knocked down in a melee as people rushed to get away from the violence. During the fall, Jackson told police, his gun discharged at least once and maybe multiple times.

Police believe seven to 15 shots were fired by at least two shooters during the incident, Hermann said.

Hermann said he does not believe Jackson fired first.

No one else has been charged.

The detective said he does not believe Jackson knew the woman he is accused of killing. Police have found no motive that could have explained why he would have wanted to kill her.

But Hermann would not agree with defense attorneys that the shooting was accidental.

“I find it hard to believe you accidentally fire three times,” he said.

Jackson, who is being held in the county jail without bail, is facing charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person.

Defense attorney Benjamin Jackson, who is with the county Public Defender’s Office, said he felt the charges were unfounded because the prosecution would need to prove “substantial and unjustifiable risk” in Jackson’s actions.

He argued that a security guard drawing his weapon in response to a shooting was a justifiable response and indicated the gun discharged accidentally when he fell in the scramble.

Assistant District Attorney Lauren Sowko argued Jackson was behaving recklessly when he pulled out his gun, aimed it at no one in particular and fired it. It takes 6.5 pounds of pressure to pull the trigger, she said, suggesting it couldn’t fire randomly.

“Firearms are a great amount of responsibility,” she said. “You’re firing it into a room full of people.”

District Judge Hilary Wheatley found that the prosecution had sufficient evidence to move the case ahead for trial in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.