In the early morning hours of March 7, 2017, the life of 27-year-old Anthony Bailey of Penn Hills was tragically cut short in an apartment on Broadway Boulevard in Pitcairn. Bailey, a male, was discovered by police with multiple gunshot wounds to his trunk and right lower extremity. He was rushed to a local hospital but was pronounced dead. Investigators initially suspected the shooting was the result of a drug deal that had turned into a robbery, with witnesses reporting two males fleeing the
scene.
The investigation into Bailey's death led authorities to two suspects, Brandon Thompson and Jamal Pamplin. In October 2017, both men were charged in connection with the homicide. It was revealed that Thompson and Pamplin were already incarcerated on unrelated charges when the arrest warrants for the murder were issued. According to an eyewitness, an argument between one of the suspects and Bailey escalated into a physical altercation. During the fight, Thompson allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot Bailey.
In August 2019, Brandon Thompson, then 25, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, robbery, and burglary for his role in Bailey's death. As part of a plea deal, he was sentenced to 20 to 60 years in prison. During the sentencing, Bailey's family delivered emotional victim-impact statements, describing the profound loss of a man who was a father to a daughter and had a son born two months after his death. They remembered him as a family man who was deeply loved.
Jamal Pamplin, who was 31 at the time of the trial in December 2019, was acquitted of the most serious charges, including homicide. His defense attorney argued that the incident was not a robbery but a dispute over a woman that started after they went to the apartment to buy marijuana. While acquitted of murder, Pamplin was found guilty of simple assault, hindering apprehension, and making a false report.
