No one in the courtroom Wednesday morning disputed that Connor Makstutis shot and killed Richard Derkach in rush-hour traffic on Banksville Road in March 2023.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Newman laid out the chain of events: Mr. Derkach pulled his maroon Kia minivan behind Mr. Makstutis’s silver Ford Ranger near the intersection with Crane Avenue shortly before 5 p.m.

Mr. Derkach got out of his vehicle and went to the driver’s side window of Mr. Makstutis’s Ford. After a brief interaction between the two men, Mr. Makstutis shot Mr. Derkach three times in the chest.

Mr. Derkach got back in his Kia and drifted a few dozen yards before coming to a stop.

Mr. Makstutis drove away and later turned himself in at Pittsburgh Police headquarters.

Indeed, defense attorney Lee Rothman agr

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