Pittsburgh Police were investigating after a man armed with a knife robbed a Rite-Aid store in the city’s Morningside neighborhood.
The robbery happened around 8:15 p.m. Wednesday at the store on Morningside Avenue.
A Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesperson said an employee told police that the man showed the knife and demanded cash and then ran off after getting the money. The suspect was described as wearing dark pants and a dark jacket. No injuries were reported and no arrests have been announced.
A witness told police the suspect walked into the store and demanded cash, saying he had a weapon on him. The witness didn’t see a weapon, police said, but the suspect kept a hand in his pocket.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A man trying to rob a Family Dollar in Winston-Salem was stopped by one of the store’s employees.
Police said Avondre McLaurin tried to steal money from the cash register and appeared to be tucking a gun under his clothes.
He was shot in the leg around 5 p.m. Thursday by the store employee and then fled from the store.
McLaurin was later arrested at his home on North Spring Street and police say he resisted arrest. McLaurin was bitten by a K-9 dog when he tried to escape arrest and was eventually arrested, police told WXII News.
PITTSBURGH — A person told police he was attacked when a group of males broke into his home Monday morning in Pittsburgh’s Perry North neighborhood before stealing his car.
The home invasion happened about 6 a.m. on Richey Avenue.
Police said the person who was inside the home told them the group broke in, assaulted him and stole items, including his car keys. The group then got away in the victim’s red Dodge Challenger.
The victim was evaluated by paramedics for minor injuries, police said.
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh police are looking for two masked men who held up a South Oakland convenience store at gunpoint and got away with cash early Friday morning.
“I’m very saddened that this happened to my neighborhood store. This is a tragedy,” said Dee Faulkner, reacting to the news.
Faulkner said she visits the Sunoco, which is at the corner of Boulevard of the Allies and Craft Avenue, at least once a day.
Police are warning residents in several Westmoreland County communities, including Greensburg, Hempfield and North Huntingdon, about a recent surge in vehicle and home break-ins. On Friday, state police released photographs taken from residential security cameras of people who are suspected of looking for unlocked cars and trucks in the vicinity
(CNN)Fourteen people involved in recent group thefts at high-end Los Angeles stores have been arrested, authorities said.
Groups working in tandem stole property “using weapons and physical force to overwhelm and intimidate store employees and other patrons” in 11 instances from November 18-28, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore announced in a press conference Thursday.
Among these incidents were four robberies, six burglaries and one grand theft, said Moore, who linked them to a series of what he described as smash-and grab thefts in the state and across the country.
Bay Area retailers were on alert Sunday after about 80 people rushed a Nordstrom store in Walnut Creek and stole merchandise, a day after groups of thieves ransacked San Francisco high-end retailers in Union Square. San Francisco police were investigating possible linkage between the brazen heists.
Walnut Creek police warned stores to take precautions againt the prospect of further incursions.
“Our investigators will be looking into the Walnut Creek incident to see if they are related,” San Francisco Police Department spokesman Officer Robert Rueca said Sunday afternoon.
The back-to-back thefts occurred 25 miles and two days apart, on Friday in Union Square, and Saturday night in at the department store in Walnut Creek. In both cases, dozens of people ransacked stores, scooping up armfuls of merchandise such as clothing and bags and dashing away.
Chicago police wouldn’t confirm if the thefts were related to the protests, according to FOX 32 in Chicago.
At the Neiman Marcus, a group of 15 men reportedly rushed into the department store and left in three vehicles with their stolen merchandise.
Protesters across the country expressed their disapproval of the jury’s decision in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Friday. The 18-year-old Illinois resident shot and killed two protesters and wounded another last year during a protest in Kenosha that followed the police-involved shooting and wounding of Jacob Blake.
Kenosha is about 66 miles north of Chicago, along the western shore of Lake Michigan.
PITTSBURGH — A pizza shop worker was attacked with a ladle before a cash register was stolen early Wednesday morning in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood.
The worker was locking up the Vocelli Pizza on Murray Avenue around 2:30 a.m. when two males approached him from behind and forced him back into the business, police said.
One of the males hit the victim over the head with a ladle before taking off with the entire cash register, police said.
PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh store was robbed at gunpoint Saturday night.
The robbery occurred at the Family Dollar store in the 1200 block of Chartiers Avenue around 10 p.m., police said.
Employees reported that a man wearing a mask came up to the counter, showed a gun and took an undisclosed amount of cash from the register before running off toward a wooded area. No one was injured.
A Youngwood man was charged Thursday after state police said he took $50,000 worth of guns, tools, coins and military collectibles from two abandoned houses, according to court papers.
George Raymond Weightman III, 43, told investigators he broke into the houses in Adamsburg and Hempfield to fund a drug addiction. He was jailed without bail on numerous counts of burglary, theft, receiving stolen property, criminal mischief and weapons violations.
He was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison.
A man accused of breaking into homes in two Allegheny County communities has been arrested.
By WPXI.com News Staff
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — A man accused of breaking into homes in two Allegheny County communities has been arrested.
Police had been searching for Elwood Bartrug, 62, who was arraigned and booked into jail early Friday morning.
Bartrug was wanted for a series of home burglaries in Millvale and Reserve Township. As of Friday morning, he’s only charged in two Millvale break-ins.
Police said he would ring home doorbells in Reserve Township and would break in if no one came to the door. However, if someone answered, he’d ask for directions.
At one point during the search for Bartrug, Millvale police tracked him to a home, but he took off running and jumped out of a third-story window to get away.
According to a criminal complaint outlining two of the Millvale break-ins, Bartrug is charged with burglary, criminal trespass and theft by unlawful taking. Those two burglaries happened on Stanton Avenue on Sept. 13.
In one of them, an air conditioning unit was removed from a side window, but nothing was taken from the home, the complaint said. Surveillance video showed Bartrug inside the home, then running to and unlocking the front door to get out when an alarm went off.
In the other break-in, the homeowner returned home to find it had been ransacked. The glass window on the basement door was broken, and a video game console, controllers and video games were missing, the complaint said. The stolen items were later found at an electronics store on Grant Avenue in Millvale, where they had been traded in.
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — A Pittsburgh man was arrested and charged in Johnstown after police said he tried to rob a woman late Saturday night and then ran over her with a pickup truck.
Police said 25-year-old Denzelle Kendrick was charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and robbery among other charges.
According to investigators, officers were called to an address in Johnstown around 10 p.m. Saturday for a report of a stabbing. When they arrived, they found a woman who had actually been beaten and run over by a Ford F-150 pickup truck. Kendrick was identified as the driver. He was seen on surveillance camera reportedly trying to steal the woman’s purse during the encounter.
Officers said Kendrick took off and was eventually pursued by state police troopers into Somerset County. Court documents said troopers were able to stop him using the “box” method, where law enforcement vehicles surround a suspect vehicle and all slow down. This causes the suspect vehicle to also slow as a result.
Troopers said speeds reached more than 105 mph before they were able to stop Kendrick.
WEXFORD, Pa — One local police chief told Channel 11 that a recent crime spree in his community could be one for the history books.
Northern Regional Police Chief John Sicilia said the stolen cars are worth nearly $500,000.
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One Bentley, For F250 Platinum Truck, Two Mercedes Benz and Two BMWs were stolen from the Bentley Pittsburgh dealership along route 19 early Thursday morning. Chief Sicilia says the crime started across the street at the enterprise in Warrendale, where the same group stole several license plates from rental cars to use on the Bentleys.
The chief says thieves then broke into the Bentleys by manipulating the key lock box on each car.
“We did enter the license plates and the vehicles into NCIC so any police officer around the country who would run that plate or VIN it would come back stolen.”
It now appears the thieves left the state and the cars are long gone. So far police have been able to locate one Bentley which was found abandoned in Summerville, West Virginia.
“We are working to process that vehicle for any kind of evidence we’ve been working with the PA state police auto theft task force but at this time we don’t have any suspects.”
EBENSBURG, Pa. (WTAJ) — Approximately $8,143 worth of items were stolen from a home along the 500 block of 3rd Avenue in Elder Township, according to state police.
Sometime between Aug. 20 at 3 p.m. to Aug. 23 at 10:30 a.m., the following items were stolen by an unknown suspect(s):
Two bank robberies are under investigation in the Pittsburgh area on Thursday afternoon.
One happened at the PNC Bank on Washington Road in South Strabane Township, Washington County.
The second robbery happened at the Brentwood Bank in South Fayette.
South Fayette police said one person of interest was taken into custody during a traffic stop near the McKees Rocks area, about 20 miles from the Brentwood Bank.
Police said a second person of interest has been identified but has not yet been arrested.
Police are not releasing their identities at this time.
South Fayette police said no money was taken at the PNC Bank, however, money was taken from the Brentwood Brank.
An FBI spokesperson said no injuries were reported.
This is a developing story. Stay with Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 for updates. Download the WTAE mobile app to stay connected with breaking news.
PITTSBURGH — Residents in Avalon Borough woke up Wednesday morning to find their cars broken into and items missing.
Many of the vehicles parked along Florence Avenue and Cleveland Avenue were locked, and residents want to know how someone was able to gain access to them.
Not only were several locked cars broken into, but some break-ins were captured on a neighbor’s surveillance camera.
David Shane is one of the victims
.“When this happened, I was furious trying to figure out how I’m going to bait them and catch them. Of course, (I) contacted law enforcement.
”His brother-in-law’s car was also targeted. “They actually broke into his car as well. Stole a pair of AirPods and some money,” Shane said.
The break-in happened early Tuesday morning, and Shane knew something was wrong right away.
When Shane walked outside, all of his windows were rolled down, his sunroof was open, and the big question is how that happened to begin with. He also knew something was wrong when he saw show boxes from his car scattered through the street; it was no surprise that they were empty.
“The glove box was open. The center console was up. Some things thrown around,” Shane explained.
Shane says his shoes, clothes and even money were stolen.
“It’s probably a lesson I learned, like most people a long time ago, not to leave belongings in your vehicle or things of worth, but I wasn’t anticipating having it being taken,” he said.
It couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Shane is visiting from Florida, but is looking for a job right now because he wants to move to Pittsburgh.
“If you are a business owner, you need anything marketing, someone to grow your brand — I’m your guy.”
In the meantime — Shane is trying to be positive.
“Could’ve been much worse, and at the end of the day, I hope someone gets to enjoy the shoes.”
Retailers, malls and supermarkets across New Jersey are seeing dramatic surges in shoplifting over the past 18 months. It’s believed to be fallout from the pandemic-related economic downturn that has caused workplace cutbacks and joblessness.
This is a separate type of crime from highly-publicized organized retail theft rings. More people are resorting to shoplifting as a way to make ends meet. That’s no excuse; just a sad reality. It also ties up valuable law enforcement resources. Significant time and taxpayer money is expended to track down, arrest and prosecute shoplifting offenders.
It’s time for New Jersey to take the lead in the United States, and create a progressive statewide diversion program for people charged with disorderly person-level shoplifting offenses. Working with the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, retailers and law enforcement, we can develop alternative procedures to get many shoplifters the help they urgently need.
Most law-abiding people see shoplifting as a penny-ante crime. Yet shoplifting has subtle, expensive repercussions most people never fully realize, affecting the retail price of goods. Nationwide, shoplifting accounts for $14.7 billion annually in stolen merchandise. That raises consumers’ costs as retailers — big and small — raise prices to recoup losses.
Retailers put a great deal of resources into dealing with theft. They install security cameras, affix anti-theft tags to merchandise, and hire guards to protect stores. Signs warn that shoplifters will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. And yet another type of theft in the retail sector receives far less attention, even though it is equally, if not more pervasive in our economy: employers stealing pay they legally owe to their workforce by paying less than minimum wage to employees.
Stores in New Jersey – from big-box retailers to corner bodegas — typically hand over shoplifting suspects to local police. Processing and prosecuting these arrests — often booked as disorderly persons offenses — is time-consuming and derail officers from focusing on crime prevention. Penalties in New Jersey for stealing less than $200 worth of food or merchandise are fines that range up to $1,000, possibly six months in jail and short stints of community service. For a person who is barely holding on and steals cans of tuna or pairs of socks in winter, such punishment seems excessive. It can add to their desperation and cause them to shoplift again.
Police said several cars were broken into in a Bethel Park neighborhood. One car was stolen. Police are trying to track down who is responsible.
Kathy Petchel said her Bethel Park community has shown her support after her Volkswagon was stolen on Pine Ridge Drive. Police said someone broke into several cars, between midnight and 1:30 a.m. on Friday morning. The thefts happened in the area of Thornwood Drive, Maplevue Drive and Forest Road. Police said similar break-ins happened about nine months ago.
They the car that was stolen was a 2012 silver Volkswagon Tiguan with the Pennsylvania license plate GBH-9972.
Petchel says even in her quiet neighborhood, people should lock their doors and stay alert.
A Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges related to a string of armed robberies that police and the FBI said he carried out with three accomplices across the city and the eastern suburbs in 2018 and 2019.
True Kinnon, 22, pleaded to conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery and brandishing a gun during a violent crime.
Kinnon admitted that he and his cohorts committed seven armed robberies in Allegheny County from November 2018 through February 2019. The group hit convenience stores in Pittsburgh, Penn Hills, Turtle Creek, Oakmont and Monroeville. During some of the heists, Kinnon and the others brandished guns, including an assault-style rifle and a revolver, and threatened employees and customers with the weapons while stealing money and property.
Kinnon and the others were all indicted federally under the Hobbs Act, which prohibits robbery or extortion affecting interstate commerce.
Prosecutors said Kinnon and Jaron Davis, of Penn Hills, robbed a customer at the Home Goods store on Mall Boulevard in Monroeville while attempting to rob the store on Dec. 17, 2018. The next day, Kinnon and Davis robbed a CoGo’s on East Carson Street. On Jan. 30, 2019, Kinnon robbed a CoGo’s on Brownsville Road, prosecutors said, along with Rudolph McBride, of Penn Hills, and Wayne Edwards, of Monroeville.
PENN HILLS, Pa. — Neighbors in Penn Hills are on edge after a series of thefts from vehicles recently.
One recent incident occurred Friday morning on Cedarwood Drive, while other incidents also occurred on Pecan Drive.
Residents provided video which shows two men rummaging around inside parked vehicles.
“The one thing I would say to the two young men, and they look awfully young in the video, is that this should not be where your story begins. Please turn it around. Make last night the last night you so something like that. Because this shouldn’t be your story,” neighbor Mary Smider said.
CHARLEROI, Pa. (KDKA) – Charleroi and Donora are on high alert after a rash of car break-ins and thefts.
The Charleroi Regional Police chief said it appears there are three people working together. They broke into dozens of cars in Charleroi and Donora in a matter of three hours and got away with two guns.
In surveillance video, you can see a thief trying to get into Pamela Jericho’s parked car on Woodland Avenue in Charleroi.
“That’s a little scary,” said Jericho.
Jericho’s camera caught what Charleroi Regional Police are calling a three-man operation.
PITTSBURGH — Streets in downtown Pittsburgh reopened Wednesday afternoon after a bank robbery investigation.
A suspect walked into the PNC Bank on Fifth Avenue around noon with a note, and left the building.
When officers arrived, they found the suspect outside, at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Washington Place with a backpack.
The suspect was taken into custody.
Officers evacuated the bank and surrounding buildings as a precaution.
The Pittsburgh Police Bomb Squad, and K-9 were called in and conducted a sweep of the area.
***BREAKING*** Police sources say one person is in custody after an incident at a PNC Bank on Fifth Avenue. Bomb squad on scene sifting through suspicious bag and sweeping the area right now. Street Closed between Washington Place and Centre to Fifth Avenue and center. #wpxi pic.twitter.com/hjo6h2oTnw— Joe Arena (@WPXIJoe) May 26, 2021
It was determined that there was no threat inside the backpack or in the area.
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