Taco Bell manager found guilty in killing of co-worker he wrote up, PA reports say

More than two years after a Taco Bell employee was shot and killed in a neighboring business, his former manager is facing life in prison, Pennsylvania reports say.

Zairyre Simmons, accused of killing 32-year-old Dorian Carver in a Northwestern Mutual building in Scott Township on Nov. 9, 2022, was found guilty of murder Feb. 4, according to KDKA.

The Allegheny Police Department said Simmons had written up Carver for violating a Taco Bell company policy, and they argued in the restaurant, according to previous McClatchy News reporting.

Carver fled to the lobby of the nearby Northwestern Mutual building, where he asked a man “if he could use a phone to call his girl,” the criminal complaint says. Simmons appeared with a gun before Carver could make the call, police said.

A witness heard Carver say “something aggressive” before hearing three gunshots, according to the complaint. Carver was hit by at least one of the bullets and was pronounced dead at the scene.

During his trial, Simmons, 26, argued he acted in self-defense because Carver threatened him, Trib Live reported.

But Carmella Wilson, Carver’s mother, said the jury made the correct decision.

“The verdict was justice. It was the right verdict,” she told WPXI. “In that courtroom, that boy, told nothing but lies. He lied and then he never showed one ounce of remorse for killing my son.”

According to Trib Live, Simmons “faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.”

Scott Township is a part of Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh.

This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Taco Bell manager found guilty in killing of co-worker he wrote up, PA reports say."