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Peter Bernardo Spencer, 29, of Pittsburgh, was found dead in the front yard of a home his coworkers had rented and invited him to in Rockland Township on Dec. 12, at 2:26 a.m. by state police, according to a release by the Venango County district attorney’s office in January.
“We believe in this case that there is enough evidence presented for self-defense that we are not going to be able to overcome our burden and show this was not self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt, and for that reason, there will be no charges filed against the suspect in this case,” District Attorney Shawn White told the media at a press conference on Tuesday, Mar. 15.
Spencer had been drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, and taking psychedelic mushrooms when he picked up his AK-47 assault and began shooting into the clouds, witnesses told police according to White.
He seemed to become angry and erratic— telling people “he was a god” while building a massive bonfire — taking people's car keys and phones when they expressed concern for his safety, investigators said.
At one point Spencer pointed the gun at the 25-year-old coworker who invited him to the cabin— that’s when the man pulled out his own gun, shooting nine times— killing Spencer, according to investigators.
The unnamed man has not been charged as the shooting was ruled “justified as an act of self-defense,” DA White said at the press conference.
“He did not have to wait for a gunshot to fire at him,” White said. “He did not have to wait for a verbal threat.”
Spencer was shot in his back, butt, chest, neck, and face— but the shot to his face was “nonfatal" and “not an execution,” White told the press.
The shooter told police that he had also taken drugs but there were none found in his system, but psilocin— a hallucinogen that can cause panic attacks and psychosis— was found in Spencer, White said. This was supposedly Spencer’s first time eating psychedelic mushrooms.
Spencer was original from Jamaica so the case made international headlines when the family went public with their theory that this was a lynching.
But ultimately, no evidence of a hate crime or bias was found, Pennsylvania state police’s Heritage Affairs team Cpl. Aaron Allen said Tuesday.
Spencer and his fiancee were already under investigation by the ATF and Pennsylvania attorney general's office at the time of his shooting for possible ghost gun trafficking, White said.
The family continues to contest the death, reminding the public that he was the only black man on the trip on two fundraisers set up to cover the costs of legal and burial fees. His sister Tehilah Spencer started one GoFundMe page that has raised over $20,000 and his pregnant fiance Carmela King has also started a GoFundMe, which has raised over $50,000 for a total of more than $70,000 raised.
His father has also tweeted about his desire to continue to pursue this case, saying in part ". We will squeeze the venom of corruption of whom is involved in the killing and covering up in days to come right infront your eyes."
He goes on to say that the family's attorney will hold a press conference next week about a new lawsuit they are filing.
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