Corporal Joseph Raymond Pokorny Jr., 45, was a Pennsylvania State Police officer with more than 22 years’ service. On the night of December 12, 2005, shortly after 2:00 a.m., he stopped a speeding vehicle near an exit ramp from I-376 in Carnegie. A violent struggle followed; the suspect gained control of Corporal Pokorny’s service weapon and shot him in the neck and chest. The fatal wound entered near his armpit, an area not covered by his vest.

The suspect, identified as Leslie Mollett, had been on parole for less than a month when the shooting occurred. Mollett fled the scene but was later taken into custody and was charged with Corporal Pokorny’s murder two days after the incident. Corporal Pokorny was survived by a son, a daughter, and his parents. A section of I-279 was dedicated as the Corporal Joseph Raymond Pokorny Jr. Memorial Highway on May 3, 2007.

Did anyone in the Pittsburgh area have contact with Corporal Pokorny that night or information about the stop near the I-376 exit ramp?