Commonwealth v. Tann

OPINION

LARSEN, Justice.

In the early morning hours of January 28, 1979, an angry racial confrontation developed between two groups of young males in the Beltzhoover section of the City of Pittsburgh. The charged incident quickly deteriorated into deadly violence as gunfire cracked in the cold snowy night1 and James Fink, one of the white youths involved, was shot and killed.2 The Appellant, Paul Tann, a young black man, was charged in the slaying.

*596After a trial by jury, Tann was convicted of third degree murder, possession of an instrument of crime, and recklessly endangering another person.…