Joseph Raymond Pokorny, Jr.

Joseph Raymond Pokorny, Jr., a corporal in the Pennsylvania State Police, was killed after a vehicle pursuit on the Parkway West in Carnegie on December 12, 2005.

Leslie Mollett, who was driving the suspect vehicle, his girlfriend, and several other men, crashed after being pursued by Pokorny. Mollett, who had recently been released on parole and who was carrying drugs, became involved in an altercation with Pokorny when he approached the car. During that altercation, Mollett was able to gain control of Pokorny’s weapon and fatally shoot him. The suspects fled and were arrested soon after.

Mollett was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole in 2007.

Author: Bill Lofquist

I am a sociologist and death penalty scholar at the State University of New York at Geneseo. I am also a Pittsburgh native. My present research focuses on the history of the death penalty in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pa. This website is dedicated to collecting, analyzing, and sharing information about all Allegheny County cases in which a death sentence was imposed. Please share any questions or comments, errors or omissions, or other matters of interest related to these cases or to the broader history of the death penalty in Allegheny County. View all posts by Bill Lofquist