Judge to view shooting footage before bond decision

A Fayette County judge wants to view original surveillance evidence one additional time in the case of a Washington County man charged with criminal homicide to see if he should be held without bail.
During a bond hearing on Friday, Fayette County Assistant District Attorney Brent Peck produced the original surveillance footage from a bank across the street that captured the shooting death of Timothy C. Durst, 54, of Uniontown on Nov. 24.
Nathan Yasek, 36, of Eighty Four allegedly shot Durst in the parking lot outside of Rizz’s bar and restaurant. Police said Yasek was urinating in the parking lot at his truck when Dust approached him from behind. After the shooting, police said Yasek went into the bar, where the county sheriff was, and told him he shot Durst in self defense. Yasek directed the sheriff to his gun, wallet and gun permit.
Durst was found dead in the parking lot adjacent to Rizz’s with gunshot wounds to the chest and upper back. Two bullets were found in his body.
The men were former neighbors, and police reported they had been involved in a dispute.
Judge Steve Leskinen requested the original footage of the incident because he said the copy of the original was of poor quality, did not show the precise location where Yasek was standing when the shots were fired and shows Durst collapsing in front of the truck on the sidewalk while Yasek comes around the door behind him.
Leskenin, Yasek and attorneys from both sides spent over 20 minutes in a jury room on Friday watching the original recording multiple times at a variety of speeds from a laptop.
“It’s no better than the previous video,” Leskinen said. The jurist said he planned to watch the original on a different, larger screen later and will likely make a determination on Monday as to whether he will set bond for Yasek. In homicide cases, defendants are held without bond if a first or second-degree murder conviction could be proven. Both come with an automatic life sentence.
Yasek’s attorney, Jack Connor, has contended his client could not be convicted of either degree of murder and is entitled to bond while awaiting trial.
Leskinen, who earlier directed the county’s adult probation office to conduct an assessment to determine if Yasek can be effectively supervised on home confinement with electronic monitoring, asked Connor if Yasek could be placed on home monitoring in Washington County.
Connor said it was his understanding that Yasek’s girlfriend resides in Fayette County and her home was reviewed and approved for home monitoring.
Connor cited comparable cases including a homicide by vehicle and attempted homicide where bond was anywhere between $50,000 and $350,000.
While Peck wasn’t familiar with those cases, he recalled a case where bond was revoked for a shooting where nobody died. Should Leskinen grant the bond request, Peck asked that he be put on electronic monitoring. Connor asked that Leskinen allow him to work if released.
Yasek is being held in the Fayette County Prison.