Judge acquits man who claimed self-defense in Carrick fatal bar shooting

A Pittsburgh man who claimed self-defense was found not guilty on Monday in a fatal shooting at a Carrick bar in December.

Corey Rall, 26, of Carrick was charged with criminal homicide in the shooting death of Cole Kerns, 28, of East McKeesport on Dec. 3 at Sophie’s Saloon on Brownsville Road.

Officers found Kerns on a rear patio. He had been shot in the head and upper body.

Rall had a nonjury trial earlier this month before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Kelly Bigley. Prosecutors were seeking a conviction for third-degree murder, which is any killing with malice.

On Monday, Bigley rendered her verdict, finding Rall not guilty because the prosecution was unable to refute his claim of self-defense during an altercation with Kerns.

Bigley told the parties that she reviewed video of the shooting at least 100 times.

“Maybe I’ve watched it 200 times,” she said. “I’ve watched it over and over and over.”

Kerns knew Rall had a gun that night, Bigley said.

She said that Kerns followed Rall then took off his jacket and shook out his left hand.

“That’s the hand he’s going to punch him with,” the judge said in court Monday while describing the video.

Kerns backed Rall against a fence on the bar’s patio, and the video shows him punch Rall.

“The victim pulls all the way back and plows through the defendant’s girlfriend and into his face,” Bigley said, noting that the victim outweighed Rall by more than 100 pounds.

Rall, who had a license to carry a concealed handgun, immediately pulled out his gun and fired two shots before running away.

In reaching her verdict, Bigley said that Rall was unable to retreat to safety and was stuck against the fence prior to shooting Kerns.

“I think the defendant reasonably believed he was being robbed of that gun,” Bigley said.