Justin Vellucci stories, Page 40
13-year-old arrested in connection with robbery, abduction of Pittsburgh pizza delivery driver
A 13-year-old boy has been arrested and charged in connection with the Jan. 3 robbery and abduction of a pizza delivery driver in Pittsburgh’s Elliott neighborhood. Pittsburgh police did not identify the teen. Police spokeswoman Amanda Mueller said the boy has not been charged as an adult because of his...
Medical examiner releases cause of death for toddler killed in Shaler fire
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Tuesday that a 2-year-old girl killed in a Shaler house fire died of smoke and fume inhalation. The death of Danika Deramo was ruled an accident. The fire happened Jan. 13 at 750 Falls Run Road, a wooded side street near the township’s...
Contractors hit with $1.1M fine for illegal asbestos removal at Churchill property
The Allegheny County Health Department has fined a contractor nearly $1.1 million for illegally disposing of asbestos while renovating the former Westinghouse headquarters in Churchill. An environmental group called the contractor’s disregard for the asbestos-containing material “unconscionable” and said the fine “is a victory for public health.” “Their reckless behavior...
Teen critically injured in McKeesport shooting
A teenage boy was critically injured in a shooting Monday afternoon in McKeesport, according to Allegheny County Police. Police said officers responded to a report of shots fired in the area of Dinsmore and Meadow streets just before 2:30 p.m. First responders found a teenage boy, who was not identified,...
3 Pittsburghers charged with domestic terrorism following Georgia incident
Seven people, including three from Pittsburgh, are facing charges of domestic terrorism after a shoot-out Wednesday at the future site of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center in Georgia. Spencer Bernard Liberto, 29, Matthew Ernest Macar, 30, and Sarah Wasilewski, 35, were taken to DeKalb County Jail earlier this week...
Police arrest suspect in armed robbery of East Liberty store
Pittsburgh police said they arrested a suspect in the Jan. 9 armed robbery of an East Liberty tobacco and lottery store. Dean Tyler, 23, no address available, faces charges of robbery, carrying a firearm without a license and theft by unlawful taking in connection with the armed robbery of Mike’s...
Slain Monroeville teen remembered as ‘sweetest person’
Eloisa Creighton has read the flood of online comments and social media posts about her grandson, Aceyn Ausbrook, who was shot and killed last weekend outside a Monroeville birthday party. Now, she said she wants to add her voice to the chorus. “People say it all the time, but he...
2-year-old girl killed in Shaler fire remembered as ‘angel-like’
Kathy Palmer was working the night shift at a GetGo in Wexford when she got the call from her son as Friday turned into Saturday around midnight. “Something really bad has happened,” Palmer recalled him saying. “There was a fire and Dani didn’t make it.” Danika Deramo, Palmer’s 2-year-old granddaughter,...
Pedestrian hospitalized after being hit by car on Vandergrift Bridge
A pedestrian was taken to a hospital via helicopter Sunday night after being hit by a car on the Vandergrift bridge, authorities said. Vandergrift police and firefighters responded to the incident on the bridge at 6:21 p.m. Sunday, closing it to traffic as a helicopter was set to land at...
Police: One-car wreck in Churchill sends 3 to hospital
A car crash in Churchill sent three people to the hospital, authorities said Sunday. The one-car wreck occurred near the intersection of Lewin Lane and Beulah Road around 3 p.m., according to an Allegheny County 911 shift supervisor. Details were not available on the injuries or conditions of the hospitalized...
Police: Masked woman attacked traffic flagger with baseball bat
A Verona woman recently attacked a traffic flagger while wearing a Halloween mask, police say. Northern Regional Police charged Rebecca Metz, 43, with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, and harassment in connection with the Jan. 5 incident. She was in Saturday at Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh unable to...
Man arrested, charged with shooting wife, abandoning her on Pittsburgh highway
Allegheny County sheriffs have arrested a man who was wanted for allegedly shooting his wife earlier this winter and leaving her injured on the side of a highway. Kevin Crew, 37, whose home address is unknown, had been wanted since Nov. 28, 2022 for the shooting incident, when he left...
McIntire memorial items sold as fundraiser for fallen chief’s family in Tarentum
By the time Zach Meso arrived Saturday at noon at the Tarentum Borough Building to buy items memorializing fallen Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire, the T-shirts were long sold out and the Sunday sale was cancelled due to a lack of available merchandise. Meso didn’t seem bothered. The Natrona Heights...
Pittsburgh police: Carrick homicide was a robbery over $190 in marijuana
A shooting early Sunday that claimed the life of a 21-year-old Carrick man stemmed from a drug deal gone awry, according to criminal complaints filed against the suspects. Four young men — Maurice Nelson, Amier Windsor, Korie Miller and a male juvenile identified as “Conspirator #4” — scrolled through Windsor’s...
Suspects in Route 51 chase charged in connection with Carrick homicide
Pittsburgh police have arrested two suspects in connection with a Carrick shooting that left one man dead. Maurice Nelson, 20, and Amier Windsor 17, each were charged Tuesday with criminal homicide, robbery and criminal conspiracy in the homicide that occurred Sunday in the 1900 block of Concordia Street. Pelson and...
Suspect chase ends in Route 51 crash that injures at least 2
A chase for a homicide suspect ended in a car crash that shuttered Route 51 and left at least two men injured Monday. “Multiple Pittsburgh police units” were pursuing the suspect in a recent homicide at about 2:40 p.m. Monday when the suspect’s vehicle crashed at the BP gas station...
Police arrest man suspected of being driver in North Side hit-and-run
A North Side man has been arrested in connection with a suspected hit-and-run incident early Monday. Pittsburgh police responded around 3:20 a.m. to the Sunoco gas station at 310 Cedar Ave. in the North Side for reports of a woman injured in the parking lot. While en route, a second...
Allegheny County Police seek tips on Wilkinsburg shooting
A man was hospitalized Friday after a shooting in Wilkinsburg. Allegheny County 911 was notified around 12:15 p.m. of a shooting in the 1700 block of McNary Boulevard. First responders found a man, who they did not identify, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to an area hospital...
2 injured, 5 cars struck after shooting along McKnight Road in Ross
One motorist was hospitalized and another injured after a shooting Thursday afternoon caused a two-hour closure of McKnight Road in Ross. Ross Detective Sgt. Brian Kohlhepp initially said there was an exchange of gunfire just after 2 p.m. along the busy North Hills corridor McKnight Road, near the intersection with...
Police: Pittsburgh cop injured when hit by drunken driver
A Pittsburgh police officer was injured early Tuesday when police said a drunken driver hit her with his car, almost pinning the officer against her marked vehicle. Police filed 17 charges against Charles Cary, 23, of Orange Beach, Ala., in connection with the incident, including aggravated assault, aggravated assault by...
Brackenridge police chief was ‘ambushed’ by his killer, investigators say
Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire was “ambushed” and shot dead while searching the borough’s Third Avenue for a fugitive late Monday afternoon, Allegheny County Police Superintendent Christopher Kearns said Tuesday. The fugitive — Aaron Lamont Swan Jr., 28, of Duquesne — later used a gun that had been modified to...
Could ‘stop, question and frisk’ drive down gun violence in Pittsburgh?
Increased gun violence in Pittsburgh has spurred city officials and residents to look for ways to combat the problem. A Carnegie Mellon University criminologist is recommending an approach that has generated controversy and debate elsewhere. Daniel Nagin, a professor of public policy and statistics at Carnegie Mellon, is calling for...
Mt. Washington struggles with rise in car break-ins
After someone broke into Emily Shaheen’s Chevrolet Spark outside her Mt. Washington apartment around Thanksgiving, the marketing director and Point Park University alumnus didn’t fret much. After all, they mostly just scored some loose change. “I didn’t even bother going to the police because there was nothing they were going...
Pedestrian identified who was killed by dump truck in Hazelwood
The woman who was killed Wednesday when a dump truck hit her as she crossed a road in Hazelwood has been identified. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Cynthia Haskell, 73, of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh police, EMS and fire crews responded to the accident in the 5000...
Policy change will send Pittsburgh firefighters to all shooting scenes in city
Pittsburgh Public Safety is looking to get more hands on deck when a shooting takes place in the city. Effective Monday morning, Pittsburgh firefighters will respond, along with police and EMS, to all crime scenes involving gunshot wounds, Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt told the Tribune-Review. Previously, firefighters only responded...
