On a tragic Mother's Day morning, May 11, 2014, the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh was shaken by violence that claimed the life of 38-year-old Jeffrey P. Jackson. In the early hours, shortly before 5:10 a.m., gunshots shattered the quiet near the Art House on Hamilton Avenue, a community safe haven for children. Responding officers found Jackson lying in the street, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his trunk.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The incident unfolded just outside the Art House, a place founded to be a refuge from street violence. A witness was awakened by the gunshots and the horrifying screams of a woman who identified Jackson as her boyfriend. She ran outside to find him unresponsive. Authorities were told that a light-colored Camaro was seen leaving the area shortly after the shooting. The Allegheny County medical examiner later confirmed that Jackson's death was a homicide caused by the gunshot wounds.
In November 2014, the investigation led to an arrest. Tariq Devon Long, 24, of Wilkinsburg, was charged with criminal homicide and a firearms violation in connection with Jackson's death. At the time of the charges, Long was already incarcerated at the Allegheny County Jail on unrelated drug and firearm offenses. Prosecutors moved forward with the case against Long, taking it to trial.
The legal proceedings, however, took a surprising turn. In February 2017, a jury acquitted Tariq Long of the homicide charge. The prosecution's case was significantly weakened when a key witness recanted her previous statements to detectives, alleging she had been threatened and paid by the police. Although DNA evidence presented by the prosecution showed a mixture of Long's DNA on the gun used in the killing, the jury deliberated for over a day before finding him not guilty of murder. Despite the acquittal on the homicide charge, the judge did find Long guilty of illegally possessing the firearm.
