Andrew J. Conroy, a deputy Pennsylvania State Constable, was shot and killed as he attempted to remove furniture from a home on January 21, 1938. The furniture was to be auctioned to pay overdue rent. Eugene Alexander Cole, the resident of the home, fired the fatal shot.
On May 25, 1938, Cole pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to five months to six years in prison, reduced to 27 days for time served. In imposing the sentence, the court stated that Conroy pulled his weapon first and that his aggressiveness had provoked Cole.
State Killings in the Steel City: The History of the Death Penalty in Pittsburgh 