Taken to the homicide unit, Pushia asked for an attorney, then admitted to the scheme, Ross wrote. Pushia said he had taken out as many as six insurance policies in Wallace's name, worth nearly $1 million combined, and said he had policies on others.
According to his church Web site, Pushia has been involved in religious work since age 15 and started an East Baltimore church in 2005 that burned down two years later. Court records hint at personal and financial problems: In February, he lost a $20,000 judgment brought by the state employees credit union, and twice in recent months he filed for protective orders against a 29-year-old man.
Pushia's attorney, Russell A. Neverdon Sr., said his client is "very distraught over the turn of events, and he is anxious to bring closure to the matter."
Neverdon said the account of Pushia's confession in court records was "not the truth in its entirety" and that Pushia hopes to share his story at the appropriate time. Neverdon added that Pushia does not know who shot Wallace and "wants other players to accept responsibility where responsibility should properly lie."
Pushia's parents, listed on the church Web site as deacons, declined to be interviewed at their Cylburn home in Northwest Baltimore, as did church associates from East Baltimore contacted by phone.
McGuire, the Arc official, said Pushia resigned from his job as operations manager Jan. 7, when he had held a lower-level supervisory position for about four months. She said he was responsible for a number of Arc homes, including the one where Wallace lived.
Pushia told Arc officials that he was leaving "for personal reasons" and gave no notice, she said.
According to McGuire, Pushia was hired after standard reference checks and a background investigation.
News of Pushia's alleged involvement in Wallace's death "was really heartbreaking here, and we're all kind of in shock today hearing this," McGuire said. "Bottom line, we're glad an arrest has been made."
At Pushia's gray, two-story home in the 5400 block of Parkside Place, neighbors said they did not know him beyond occasional greetings.
One neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said at least two men lived in the home with a young child and he assumed the men were college students. Pushia always wore a sharp suit and carried a backpack. The neighbor said arguments inside the home were occasionally audible.
