News Of Western Pennsylvania And The World
Greensburg police arrested a Jeannette man Wednesday, accusing him of breaking into Excela Health offices last weekend to steal a laptop computer and several petty items, according to court documents. Travis A. Gibson, 37, kicked open the doors to three offices inside 562 Shearer St. late Saturday, according to patrolman
Source: Man charged with burglaries of Greensburg medical offices
More than a dozen people were indicted in what federal investigators called a multi-state cocaine trafficking operation that included places in Pittsburgh.
Source: 16 people in 5 states, including people in Pittsburgh, charged in massive DEA drug bust
A jury has convicted Jussie Smollett on five of six charges he staged a racist, anti-gay attack on himself and lied to Chicago police about it.
Source: Actor Jussie Smollett convicted of staging attack, lying to police
Shooting happened early Thursday morning
Witnesses said they heard two men arguing before the victim was shot.
The suspect ran off.
The victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Source: Man shot in the head following argument in Downtown Pittsburgh
While there’s a gaping hole outside Fox News now, the Christmas tree is expected to be fixed, brought back, and relit by this evening.
PITTSBURGH — A 14-year-old boy was stabbed multiple times in Pittsburgh early Wednesday morning, police said.
The stabbing happened about 12:30 a.m. in the Beechview/Brookline area of the city, but police were called to help the boy at a car dealership in Castle Shannon.
It was about 1 a.m. when officers from several departments, including Pittsburgh, Castle Shannon, Mt. Lebanon and Baldwin, went to the Kenny Ross dealership on Library Road. The boy was in a car in the parking lot, along with two juvenile girls and another juvenile boy, police said.
An officer treated the boy’s injuries and called paramedics, Castle Shannon’s police chief said. The boy was taken to a hospital. His condition has not been released.
Pittsburgh police are handling the investigation.
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Source: 14-year-old boy stabbed in Pittsburgh, receives help outside car dealership in Castle Shannon – WPXI
The massive All-American Christmas Tree outside Fox News’ New York City headquarters was seriously damaged in a fire early Wednesday and police say they arrested a man running from the location.
Fox News security spotted a man climbing the 50-foot-tall tree at the center of Fox Square just after midnight. The Sixth Avenue and 48th Street location is in the heart of Midtown.
NYPD officers arrived at the scene and saw a man running from the location before they took him into custody. They said they expect charges again him. City firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze.
Source: Fox Square’s All-American Christmas Tree burned in fire, suspect arrested
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh police officers were out on the same street in the West End for two separate incidents on Tuesday.
This afternoon, detectives showed up to Stafford Street after shot spotter sent multiple alerts for gunfire.
Neighbors tell Channel 11, they heard 15 to 20 gunshots. One man said he he saw seven shell casings across the street from his home.
Police say no one was hurt in the shooting.
A few hours earlier, someone dialed 911 after finding a woman dead in the home on the same street.
At this point, it is unclear how the woman died and if the two incidents are somehow related.
Channel 11 will be checking in with investigators for the latest developments.
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Source: Police discover multiple crime scenes in a Pittsburgh neighborhood
The shooting happened near Palisades Plaza in Rankin.
RANKIN, Pa. —
Allegheny County police are investigating after a 20-year-old man was shot and killed in Rankin.
Police said the victim was found a little after 9:35 p.m. Monday at the Palisades Apartment Complex on the 2100 block of Rankin Boulevard.
Source: 20-year-old man shot and killed in Rankin
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Allegheny County Police are investigating after a man was shot in the head inside an apartment in Wilkinsburg.
According to police, County 911 dispatchers were notified of a shooting in an apartment on Wood Street around 3:30 a.m. on Monday.
Officers arrived at the scene and found a man who had been shot in the head.
He was taken to a nearby hospital and was last listed in critical condition.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the County Police Tip Line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS.
Stay with KDKA for more on this developing story.
Source: Man Shot In The Head Inside Wilkinsburg Apartment – CBS Pittsburgh
James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of the teenager accused of killing four people in a Michigan high school shooting, pleaded not guilty to charges against them.
The couple was arraigned in court Saturday morning on four counts each of involuntary manslaughter. A judge set their bonds at $500,000 each, saying there is some concern about them being a flight risk because they had to be apprehended.
The couple’s attorneys had asked for a bond of $50,000 or $100,000 and denied that James and Jennifer Crumbley fled.
Jennifer Crumbley cried as she told the judge that she understands the charges against her. She and her husband both appeared virtually for the arraignment.
They are being represented by Shannon Smith and Mariell Lehman, who are from the same firm.
James and Jennifer Crumbley were arrested earlier Saturday morning in Detroit following a manhunt.
Source: Parents of suspected Michigan school shooter plead not guilty to manslaughter charges
The parents of the teen accused of killing four Oxford High School students Tuesday have been taken into the custody of authorities in Detroit early Saturday.
James and Jennifer Crumbley were arrested just hours after a gathering attended by thousands was held in downtown Oxford.
United States Marshals joined local, county and state officials who announced they were seeking to apprehend the pair after Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald announced at a Friday noon press conference they were being charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter each.
Tuesday, Ethan Crumbley, 15, was arrested and later charged with killing four Oxford High School students and wounding seven others, some severely. After the charges against Crumbley’s parents were revealed, attorneys representing the couple said they had left the area out of concern for their own health but when they did not return a manhunt ensured. By early evening Friday, United States Marshals offered a reward of $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of each.
The four killed were Tate Myre, 16, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Hana St Juliana, 14, and Justin Shilling, 17. Seven others were injured.
Ethan Crumbley is being charged as an adult, and is facing one count of terrorism, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assaults with intent to murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm.
Source: Authorities: Crumbley parents arrested early Saturday
PITTSBURGH — Four people were taken into custody in relation to a carjacking and a robbery that were reported late Thursday night in Pittsburgh’s North Side, police said.
The crimes happened shortly after 11:30 p.m. in the area of East Ohio Street and Cedar Avenue in the city’s East Allegheny neighborhood. Police had East Ohio Street blocked off for a time.
No one was hurt, police said.
Further information has not been released.
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Source: 4 taken into custody after carjacking, robbery in Pittsburgh’s North Side – WPXI
(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.
Source: 14 people arrested for group thefts at high-end Los Angeles stores – CNN
Westmoreland County drivers can expect to see more police patrols focused on cracking down on aggressive and impaired drivers in the region through the New Year’s holiday.
“Whether it’s day or night, people can expect to see increased state police patrols targeting impaired drivers,” said Lt. Ryan Maher of Troop A in Greensburg.
Maher was among the local and state police officers and PennDOT officials who Thursday at the Latrobe Municipal Building announced the launch of the annual Operation Safe Holiday Campaign.
The patrols in Cambria, Indiana, Somerset and Westmoreland counties with Troop A will not only be focusing on impaired drivers, “but aggressive drivers and speeders,” Maher said.
During 2020, between Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day, Troop A investigated six traffic fatalities and 96 additional wrecks that resulted in injuries. Maher said 27 of those “holiday” accidents involved impaired drivers.
“Our goal is to attempt to reduce that number this year,” Maher said.
Source: Police in Westmoreland County to target DUI, aggressive drivers through New Year’s Day
Victims were discovered on Wednesday morning
Source: Man dead, woman injured after shooting in McCandless
(CNN)Three people died and six were injured in a shooting Tuesday afternoon at a high school in Oxford, Michigan, authorities said.
The three killed at Oxford High School are believed to be students, Oakland County Undersheriff Michael G. McCabe said at a news conference. One of those shot is believed to be a teacher.The suspect was identified as a 15-year-old boy who is a sophomore at the school, McCabe said.A handgun was recovered from the suspect, McCabe said. Authorities recovered multiple shell casings in the school and believe around 15-to-20 shots were fired.“At this point in time, we believe he acted alone,” McCabe said.The 15-year-old did not resist arrest, has invoked his right not to speak and is not telling law enforcement officers anything right now, McCabe said.Officers were searching the school for possible additional victims.All evacuated students were relocated to a nearby store for reunification with relatives.
Source: School shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan leaves 3 dead, several injured – CNN
Three children are dead and multiple people were injured in a shooting Tuesday at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit, authorities said.
A suspected shooter is in custody, according to Michael McCabe, undersheriff with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office. A handgun was also located, he said.
Source: Multiple people injured in shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan, officials say
A regional cybersecurity firm is helping restore information, the college’s spokesman William Foley said in a press release.
Source: Butler County Community College to close for 2 days after ransomware attack
PITTSBURGH — Two people were injured in a shooting in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood on Friday night.
The shooting occurred in the area of Amanda Avenue and Bausman Street just after 10 p.m.
Pittsburgh police said a woman was found with a gunshot wound to the leg, and she was taken to the hospital in stable condition. A man was also shot in the foot, but refused medical treatment.
The Mobile Crime Unit processed the scene.
There are no arrests at this time. The investigation is ongoing.
Source: Man and woman shot in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood – WPXI
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County and Munhall police investigated and have issued an arrest warrant for 53-year-old Darnell Pearson. Detectives say Pearson illegally entered the Scotia Way home and shot the victim, who was visiting the home’s resident. A 10-year-old child was also in the home.
Source: Police issue warrant for suspect in Thanksgiving night Munhall shooting | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A Pittsburgh police officer is on unpaid administrative leave after he was charged with rear-ending a car while intoxicated in Plum earlier this month.
The driver of the car he hit, according to police, is WPXI-TV reporter Amy Hudak.
Tariq Jamal-Francis is charged with driving under the influence, endangering the welfare of children, and moving violations in connection with the Nov. 12 incident.
The crash happened about 2:30 p.m. on New Texas Road near Saltsburg Road, according to the criminal complaint. Hudak told officers she’d been rear-ended and the car that struck hers fled the scene. She told police that she recognized the car as belonging to a neighbor.
Police found Jamal-Francis pulled over near Boyce Park Village, and he told officers he’d been in an accident on New Texas Road, authorities wrote, noting that his 17-year-old son was in the front passenger seat. Police said the boy said he’d been injured, but declined treatment.
An officer asked Jamal-Francis if he’d been drinking, according to the complaint, to which he responded he had been. He refused to perform a field sobriety test, according to the complaint, but he consented to having his blood drawn to determine his blood-alcohol content.
Officers said Jamal-Francis kept saying “that he did it and should not have put himself in that position and should have had his son get a ride to practice,” according to the complaint.
Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said Jamal-Francis was off-duty at the time of the crash, and he remains on unpaid leave.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 19.
Source: Pittsburgh police officer charged with DUI and rear-ending car driven by WPXI reporter
A search for a suspect is underway after KeyBank in Greensburg was robbed Wednesday morning, Pennsylvania State Police confirm.
Source: Greensburg bank robbed, search for suspect underway
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.
More than 20 people were reported injured after an SUV plowed through a holiday parade in a Milwaukee suburb.
WAUKESHA – A treasured rite of the holiday season turned into a scene of bloody, violent mayhem late Sunday afternoon as a vehicle plowed into the Waukesha Christmas Parade, leaving more than 20 people injured, including children, and shaking the community, authorities said.
There were some fatalities but a figure was not released as authorities sought to notify families.
Eleven adults and 12 children were ferried to local hospitals.
Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly called the incident a “horrible and senseless act.”
Source: Car plows through Christmas parade in downtown Waukesha, Wisconsin
More than 20 people were reported injured after an SUV plowed through a holiday parade in a Milwaukee suburb.
WAUKESHA – A car plowed into the Waukesha Christmas Parade Sunday evening, leaving more than 20 people injured, authorities said.
“Tonight was a traumatic situation for the City of Waukesha,” Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly said at a news conference.
Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said that at around 4:39 p.m. a red SUV drove into the Christmas Parade “and more than 20 people were injured as a result of this incident.”
A suspect vehicle was recovered and there is a “person of interest we’re looking into,” the police chief said. People were transported to local hospitals via ambulances and police vehicles, he added.
“Very tragic incident, very chaotic,” Thompson said.
He said the “scene was now safe.”
The incident occurred during one of the city’s biggest and most cherished annual events.
Angelito Tenorio, a West Allis alderman who is running for Wisconsin state treasurer, said he had just finished marching in the parade with his family and friends and was walking back toward Main Street.
Thieves reportedly targeted a Neiman Marcus store on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile and a GameStop on the South Side on Friday night as protesters took the streets to oppose Kyle Rittenhouse’s’ acquittal.
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.
Source: Chicago thieves target Neiman Marcus, GameStop amid Rittenhouse protests | Fox News
A Westmoreland County assistant public defender accused of assaulting a state trooper at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Somerset County waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday.
David E. Mulock, 36, of Murrysville, has been suspended with pay since his arrest on charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, disorderly conduct, public drunkenness, resisting arrest and simple assault in connection with the Sept. 15 incident, according to online dockets.
Authorities said Mulock appeared drunkcand initially refused to furnish identification in the parking lot where he struggled with officers and resisted arrest as they attempted to place him in custody.
Police said Mulock kicked one officer during the confrontation, which occurred the night before the start of the annual three-day Westmoreland County Bench Bar Conference for local lawyers and judges.
Mulock serves an assistant public defender. For now, he will continue to earn his $54,000 annual salary while he remains suspended pending the disposition of the case, according to county officials. He was hired by the county in 2014 and previously worked as a law clerk for Westmoreland Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger.
Source: Westmoreland lawyer accused of assaulting state trooper at Seven Springs waives right to hearing
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.
No arrests have been made in the robbery.
The worker was not seriously hurt, police said.
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Source: Pizza shop worker attacked with ladle, cash register stolen during robbery in Pittsburgh
In 2014, attorney Daniel Muessig created an advertisement for his law practice and posted it on YouTube.
In the funny, over-the-top video that had more than 150,000 views, he urged people to hire him to represent them in court because, he said, “I think like a criminal.”
Now, seven years later, Muessig finds himself in the role of an actual criminal.
The 39-year-old pleaded guilty Tuesday to two felony counts in federal court in Pittsburgh — conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
The government said the amount of illegal drugs attributable to Muessig was between about 220 and 880 pounds. He faces prison time when he is sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab in March.
Federal prosecutors said Muessig, along with another man, Wayne Barker, operated a drug stash house at a home on Covode Street in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill.
Investigators with the Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets task force, who had a wire tap and then set up surveillance at the house, saw people involved in the conspiracy carrying large black trash bags with green stickers identifying the strain of marijuana to vehicles. Then, around 9:30 a.m. on May 24, 2019, Muessig was seen carrying a black backpack into the house.
About 40 minutes later, two more men arrived at the house and went inside.
Later, investigators said that Muessig and another co-defendant, Hector Rodriguez, carried two large boxes from the house and put them in a Dodge Ram parked in the next-door neighbor’s driveway.
After the Dodge pulled out, police pulled it over. Inside the boxes Muessig and Rodriguez had carried out, they found $400,000, the government said.
A subsequent search of the residence resulted in the discovery of boxes full of marijuana, packaging material, a vacuum sealer and money counter.
The marijuana weighed 404 pounds. There was an additional $5,012 seized from the residence, as well.
Muessig is facing a five-year mandatory prison sentence. However, there is a provision in federal court called the “safety valve” that would allow for a reduced sentence if he can meet several requirements, including proving that he was not a leader of the organization and that he did not use weapons or violence in his crimes.
If Muessig qualifies for the reduction, the advised prison term would be 30 to 37 months.
