The prosecution included contested release decisions, house arrest in New Jersey and a bench trial focused on criminal intent.
PITTSBURGH, Penn. — A criminal case that began with a critically injured man found below a Shadyside stairway has reached the period between conviction and sentencing, with the defendant still on bond after nearly three years of court-supervised release.
Jasper Jacob Hilliard, 24, was found guilty in June of attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary, possessing an instrument of crime and resisting arrest. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski issued the verdict after a bench trial and set sentencing for Sept. 21. Prosecutors asked the judge to revoke Hilliard’s bond once guilt had been established, but Borkowski denied the request. The decision continued an unusual and closely watched custody history that began soon after Hilliard’s arrest in June 2023 and remained a source of concern for the victim and some Shadyside residents.
The underlying attack occurred June 3, 2023, at about 4:30 p.m. Al Carlson, then 74, was taking his customary afternoon walk on Lehigh Avenue when he passed Hilliard. Carlson later testified that the two did not know each other. He said the younger man spoke to him and then attacked him with a knife. Carlson was stabbed seven times and thrown down concrete stairs. Neighbors found him below street level, called for help and provided emergency aid. A police officer who responded described Carlson’s condition as grave.
Carlson underwent surgery and spent roughly one week in intensive care and another in a trauma unit. While medics and doctors treated him, police traced the suspected attacker to another nearby property. Investigators said Hilliard entered a home while residents were present, washed a knife and a bloodied shirt and changed clothing. Officers arrested him near the house. Police also obtained video from a witness that appeared to capture the assault, according to reports citing court records.
The arrest opened the first phase of the case: charging and pretrial detention. Hilliard was accused of trying to kill Carlson, causing serious bodily injury, carrying a weapon for criminal use, entering another person’s home and resisting officers. A magistrate set bond at $1 million. Hilliard’s family posted the amount needed to secure his release, allowing him to leave jail only days after the attack. Carlson was still recovering, and the sight or prospect of Hilliard returning to the community alarmed residents who had rallied around the injured man.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office challenged the release order. Borkowski revoked Hilliard’s bond, returning him to jail. That decision did not remain permanent. The judge later approved a plan that permitted Hilliard to live at his parents’ home in New Jersey under treatment, monitoring and safety conditions. His attorney said at the time that Hilliard understood the community’s concern and was addressing mental-health and substance-use issues. The arrangement moved the defendant out of Pennsylvania while requiring him to remain available for court proceedings.
The next public stage came at an October 2023 preliminary hearing. Carlson testified about the afternoon walk, the sudden attack and the fall down the stairs. He said he believed he was going to die. A Pittsburgh violent-crime detective testified that Hilliard had admitted his role. The detective said Hilliard reported choosing Carlson because he was convenient and initially thought the older man had been killed. The judge presiding over the hearing ordered all charges to proceed, finding enough evidence for the case to continue toward trial.
Hilliard’s lawyer, Frank Walker, stressed at that point that the preliminary hearing did not decide guilt. He said the defense would study the testimony and evidence. That distinction mattered because the legal issues became narrower as the case progressed. The reports on the eventual trial indicated little dispute that Hilliard had attacked Carlson. The principal fight concerned whether Hilliard’s use of Delta-8 and resulting psychosis prevented him from forming the specific intent required for attempted homicide.
The case then entered a lengthy pretrial period. Hilliard remained under house arrest at his parents’ residence. The available public reports did not provide a complete explanation for every month of delay, and it would be inaccurate to attribute the full timeline to a single motion, party or court event without the complete docket. Criminal cases involving expert testimony about mental condition can require evaluations, reports and hearings, but the public accounts reviewed for this article do not establish which procedures accounted for each delay in this prosecution.
When the trial occurred, the defense argued that Hilliard had been in a substance-induced psychosis after consuming Delta-8. The product is intoxicating, but the legal issue was not a broad judgment about the product or every person who uses it. The question was whether Hilliard, in this case, retained the ability to intend Carlson’s death. Walker argued that his client did not understand what he was doing. Prosecutors relied on Hilliard’s actions, his reported statements and the evidence from the scene to prove deliberate conduct.
Borkowski found that Hilliard was psychotic at the time but ruled that the condition did not prevent him from forming a specific intent to kill. The judge noted reports that Hilliard later understood and described what he had done. Borkowski concluded that the prosecution had proved intent beyond a reasonable doubt. He found Hilliard guilty of every count, turning the defendant’s status from accused to convicted and moving the case into its sentencing phase.
The verdict prompted prosecutors to revisit the custody question. Their request to revoke bond reflected the changed circumstances: Hilliard was no longer awaiting a determination of guilt and now faced sentencing for attempted homicide and other felonies. Borkowski nevertheless allowed the existing release arrangement to continue. Public reports did not reproduce a complete written explanation for that decision. The denial means Hilliard can remain at his parents’ home under court conditions until the scheduled hearing unless the court modifies the order before then.
Bond and sentencing are separate decisions. Bond determines where a defendant remains while a case is pending. Sentencing determines punishment after guilt has been established. A person who remains free after a verdict can still receive a prison sentence and be taken into custody when that sentence is imposed. Conversely, the court can consider a defendant’s compliance with release restrictions as part of a wider record without treating that compliance as a substitute for punishment.
The September hearing will give both sides an opportunity to address the court’s remaining choices. Prosecutors may emphasize that Carlson was selected at random, attacked repeatedly, moved down the stairs and left with life-threatening injuries. They may also point to the entry into the nearby home and Hilliard’s reported belief that Carlson was dead. Carlson can provide a victim-impact statement describing his recovery and the effects of the crime.
The defense may focus on Hilliard’s age, prior behavior, mental-health history, treatment and compliance with house arrest. Hilliard’s father has said his son was peaceful before consuming Delta-8 and would not have attacked Carlson without it. Walker has said Hilliard has shown remorse and wants to improve. Those arguments may affect punishment, but they cannot undo the guilty findings unless a later court overturns them through the appellate process.
The court must also account for the separate convictions beyond attempted homicide. The burglary count arose from Hilliard’s entry into a nearby home after the stabbing. The weapons count concerned possession of an instrument for criminal use. The resisting-arrest count addressed his conduct when police took him into custody. Sentences on multiple counts can involve questions about whether penalties run at the same time or one after another, but no final structure had been announced as of July 17.
Carlson, meanwhile, survived and returned to walking in Shadyside. His recovery unfolded while the legal case moved through release decisions, a preliminary hearing, extended preparation and trial. Neighbors who helped him immediately after the attack continued to attend proceedings and express support. Their presence did not alter the legal burden of proof, but it kept attention on the person most directly affected during a prosecution that lasted far longer than the few minutes in which the crime occurred.
The next stage is now fixed on the court calendar. Hilliard remains convicted and on bond, Carlson remains eligible to address the judge, and Borkowski is scheduled to impose sentence Sept. 21. Any appeal would ordinarily follow the completion of sentencing and the entry of a final judgment.
Author note: Last updated July 17, 2026.