On the evening of March 23, 2015, 16-year-old Justin Clark of Penn Hills was found dead next to a car in a parking lot on Trefoil Court in Monroeville. A resident discovered his body about 10:30 p.m.; emergency personnel pronounced the Penn Hills High School sophomore dead at Forbes Regional Hospital after he suffered a gunshot wound to the upper left chest.

Investigators say the killing followed a prearranged meeting in which Justin intended to sell a handgun to Javon Peterson. Two others, Darnell Burks and Deonte Howell, had conspired to rob him. As Justin exited his vehicle holding the firearm, Burks fired a single shot; Burks and Howell then fled. Arrests followed in May 2015: Howell, 18, and Peterson, 19, were taken into custody, and Burks was later apprehended and charged.

Court outcomes reported by February–September 2017 include guilty pleas and prison terms: Peterson pleaded guilty to hindering apprehension and obstruction; Burks pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and received 14 to 28 years; Howell pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and was sentenced to three and a half to 10 years plus probation. Justin’s family has expressed deep grief and unanswered questions. Did anyone in the Monroeville or Penn Hills area witness activity in the Trefoil Court parking lot that night or have information about the meeting that led to Justin’s death?