New Kensington man convicted of first-degree murder in 2020 slaying of Brackenridge man

The sound of sniffling and crying filled the courtroom as jurors announced their verdict in the fatal shooting of Michael Coover Jr.

The Westmoreland County jury found Mario Gatti of New Kensington guilty of criminal homicide charges following a five-hour deliberation Thursday.

Judge Christopher Feliciani described the decision as “citizens dispensing justice” before Gatti, 33, was escorted out of the courtroom by police.

About a dozen members of Coover’s family and friends wept when the verdict was announced.

In January 2020, Gatti parked his car in an Arnold alley, walked into a townhouse with a gun, pushed over Coover’s girlfriend and fatally shot Coover, who was unarmed. The shooting followed months of threatening back-and-forth text messages between the two men.

After Gatti shot the 33-year-old Coover, prosecutors said, he pointed the gun at two women and threatened to kill them as they tried to shield an infant from him.

Coover, who was from Brackenridge, suffered two shots to the arm and chest. The fatal bullet in his chest went through a lung and perforated his spine.

At the beginning of their closing argument Thursday morning, prosecutors played the audio of a 911 call in which one of the women cried and begged police to help the dying Coover.

“Actions speak louder than words,” Assistant District Attorney Leo Ciaramitaro said.

Ciaramitaro said Gatti took it upon himself to serve as the “judge, jury and executioner” of his dispute with Coover.

The prosecutor pointed out the irony that, unlike Coover, Gatti was afforded due process.

“(Gatti) took the justice system away from Mr. Coover,” Ciaramitaro said. “None of Mr. Coover’s actions should have resulted in death punishment.”

The defense’s closing argument attempted to convince jurors that Gatti acted in self-defense. Defense attorney John Sweeney said Gatti tried to let disputes between the men “calm down” and “go away” prior to the shooting.

Sweeney pushed jurors toward a voluntary manslaughter conviction — but that lesser charge was the only charge Gatti was acquitted of.

The jury convicted Gatti of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, third-degree murder, burglary, illegal possession of a firearm, three counts of terroristic threats and three counts of reckless endangerment.