A Trafford man will serve at least 16 years in state prison after he was sentenced Thursday for killing a man he said was his friend.
Christopher Papalia, 33, was found guilty by a jury of third-degree murder on Feb. 7.
According to the criminal complaint, Pittsburgh police were called to Frankstown Avenue in Homewood around 2 a.m. on March 6, 2021, for the report of a fatal shooting.
When they arrived, they found Julian Carter, 30, of Turtle Creek. He had been shot in the head and died at the scene.
Officers said that while there, a man approached them wearing a large, white winter coat. He was covered in fresh blood.
Later identified as Papalia, he told them, “I was the guy in the fight,” and “I shot him.’”
Papalia was later noted to have small cuts and abrasions on him.
He also was the person who called 911, the complaint said. In the call, he said, “I pulled my gun. I didn’t want to shoot him, but then he’s dead.”
At trial, witnesses testified that Carter, Papalia and another man had all gone out together that night and had been drinking for several hours.
At Thursday’s sentencing before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos, Papalia apologized, telling the court that he and Carter were friends, and he didn’t mean to shoot him.
In a sentencing memorandum, Papalia’s attorneys asked the court to sentence him to time served — about four years — below the recommended guidelines of six years. They cited a number of mitigating circumstances, including that Papalia called 911 to report the shooting and that he takes full responsibility for his actions.
He “is very sorry for what happened.”
But Rangos told Papalia that she believed there were aggravating circumstances that required more prison time, including that she didn’t feel Papalia accepted responsibility for what happened.
While the defendant claimed he didn’t know the gun was loaded and that he didn’t mean to shoot the victim, Rangos noted that Papalia had chosen to leave a fully loaded clip in his vehicle, but carried the gun with a round in the chamber.
That, she said, had to have been done purposefully.