Tom Davidson stories, Page 38
Police: Wilkinsburg teen shot at girlfriend’s brother six times
A Wilkinsburg teenager told police he fired about six shots at his girlfriend’s brother with a borrowed gun Sunday evening because he feared for his own safety, according to a criminal complaint filed against him. Robert Cook, 17, was taken into custody at his home after the shooting, which happened...
Police: Armed couple rob Carrick Burger King
An armed couple robbed a Burger King Friday morning in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood, police said. A store manager told police a man and woman, each armed with a gun, entered the restaurant before 7:15 a.m. and demanded cash from a safe in the back, Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Cara Cruz said....
Pittsburgh youth football player who died felt ill before practice, mom says
The mother of a Carrick teen who died after collapsing at youth football practice Wednesday night said her son had wanted to skip the practice because he wasn’t feeling well. “He really wanted to relax and stay home,” Laken Duckett-Coates, 28, said Thursday while surrounded by family and friends on...
Wood Street symphony: Port Authority adds outdoor classical music for calmVideo
The sounds of the city now include strings, woodwinds and horns. The Port Authority of Allegheny County, in response to a summer of increased violence in Downtown Pittsburgh, started playing classical music through speakers outside its Wood Street station. The music harmonizes and sometimes contrasts with the sounds of buses...
Pittsburgh lobbyist charged with bilking $100K from clients
An Upper St. Clair man who ran a Pittsburgh-based lobbying firm is accused by the state Attorney General’s office of stealing more than $100,000 from small businesses in the area. Joseph Kuklis, 48, operated the consulting firm Wellington Strategies based in Station Square. The firm’s website was taken down after...
Motorcyclist ID’d in fatal Squirrel Hill tunnel crash
A 26-year-old Pittsburgh man was identified as the driver of the motorcycle involved in a fatal crash Friday morning in the eastbound lanes of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. Aaron Pascal died at the scene of the crash, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office said. Pascal was driving a motorcycle in...
Police: Suspected gunman surrenders after two-hour standoff in Braddock
A suspect in a Braddock shooting surrendered to police after a two-hour standoff Thursday, said Allegheny County police Inspector Andrew Schurman. Braddock police responded to the call at about 1:30 p.m. to the 500 block of Talbot Avenue, where the shooting victim was found and transported to the hospital. The...
Police fired 10 shots at Donald Babbit in Shaler shooting
Three police officers fired a total of 10 shots when they killed a Shaler man who pointed a gun at them Tuesday afternoon, Allegheny County police Superintendent Coleman McDonough said. Donald Babbit, 49, was shot outside his home in the 800 block of Spencer Grove Lane. Two officers from Shaler...
What you need to know if you’re going to Steelers preseason opener
Fans headed to the Pittsburgh Steelers preseason opener Friday should make sure they have digital tickets saved on their phones. Screenshots of the ticket code won’t be permitted this season as they were last year, Heinz Field spokesman Nick Sero said. That’s the biggest change fans can expect this year,...
DA: Investigation into missing Whitehall woman presumed dead wrapping up
Authorities are “real close to a conclusion” in a case involving a Whitehall woman who is presumed dead after she went missing April 30, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said Tuesday. “We have not found her body but that doesn’t preclude us from prosecuting,” Zappala said during...
Project Reset is Allegheny County officials’ effort to give people a fresh startVideo
Allegheny County officials are taking a statewide effort to give people who have been charged with or convicted of low-level nonviolent offenses a fresh start to another level. Called “Project Reset,” the county’s program will help Allegheny County residents learn whether the crimes on their criminal records can be sealed...
DA: Grand jury hearing case against man accused of killing Pittsburgh police officer
A grand jury is hearing the case against a Pittsburgh man accused in the July 14 killing of a city police officer, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. confirmed Tuesday. The grand jury will decide whether charges against Christian Bey, 30, will go forward. Zappala and others involved...
2 plead guilty in Pittsburgh housemate’s death
Two men pleaded guilty Monday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court to third-degree murder and other charges in connection with a man’s beating in December 2017, according to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office. Marlon Watts and Klayton Aaron Massie, both 31, are scheduled to be sentenced in October. Watts...
Pittsburgh police seeking McKeesport man in Strip District shooting
Pittsburgh police are searching for a McKeesport man wanted on a slew of charges related to an Aug. 1 shooting outside a Strip District restaurant, authorities said. Treysaun Lockett-Tillman, 21, shot a man multiple times on the sidewalk across Penn Avenue from the Savoy Restaurant, police said in a criminal...
Trump postpones Beaver County visit in wake of mass shootings
President Trump has postponed this week’s planned visit to an ethane cracker plant under contruction in Beaver County in the wake of this weekend’s mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, the White House and county officials confirmed Monday. Trump had been slated to visit the plant site Thursday. “In...
Police: 3 Pittsburgh gas stations robbed
Pittsburgh police are investigating three robberies at gas stations that happened between Sunday night and early Monday morning, police spokesman Chris Togneri said. In all three cases, men wearing dark clothing entered the stations and demanded cash. At least one of the men had a gun, Togneri said. The first...
Former Pittsburgh homicide detective accused of falsifying reports fined $200
A former Pittsburgh homicide detective who was facing charges she lied and faked reports pleaded no contest Friday to two misdemeanor charges of hindering apprehension in a deal reached with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. Allegheny County Judge Jill E. Rangos levied a $200 fine and no further penalty against...
1 of 2 men charged in 2017 Pitcairn homicide pleads guilty
One of two men charged in a 2017 Pitcairn robbery that left a Penn Hills man dead pleaded guilty Friday in Allegheny County court to third-degree murder, robbery and other charges. Brandon Thompson, 25, of East Hills, was sentenced by Judge Edward J. Borkowski to 20 to 60 years in...
VW settlement will fund new charging stations in East Liberty
Six electric vehicle charging stations will be installed at a public lot in East Liberty thanks to $245,000 the state awarded the city through Pennsylvania’s share of a settlement with Volkswagen, the Pittsburgh Mayor’s Office announced Thursday. The money was awarded from the state Department of Environmental Protection, and it’s...
Columbia Gas on Washington County home explosion: ‘We are deeply sorry’
Columbia Gas is taking full responsibility for a Wednesday afternoon explosion that leveled a Washington County home and injured at least five people. “Our customers deserve safe and reliable delivery of natural gas to their homes,” said Mike Huwar, president and chief operating officer of Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania and...
Man convicted of murdering sisters in East Liberty seeks new trial
The Pittsburgh man serving life in prison for killing his neighbors in 2014 in East Liberty is seeking a new trial. Allen Wade, 48, is serving consecutive life sentences, one for each victim, plus three consecutive terms of 10 to 20 years for two counts of robbery and one count...
Pittsburgh police donate blood to honor slain Officer Calvin HallVideo
Slain Pittsburgh police Officer Calvin Hall’s legacy of service is being kept alive by his colleagues. “We felt it was important that we live after his motto,” said Pittsburgh police Chief Scott Schubert. “We wanted to do something.” That something was a blood drive Wednesday during the department’s wellness fair...
Woman who urinated on potatoes at West Mifflin Walmart seemed drunk, police say
Police said a woman caught on camera urinating on potatoes at a West Mifflin Walmart appeared to be drunk when she walked into the store, according to a criminal complaint filed against her. About $200 worth of potatoes were tainted by the urine, police said in a criminal complaint. The...
Mt. Lebanon man sentenced to up to 42 years in baby daughter’s death
A 31-year-old Mt. Lebanon man was sentenced Wednesday to 21 to 42 years in prison for the 2017 death of his 4-month-old daughter. Allegheny County Judge Randal Todd previously found Joseph Gazzam guilty of third degree murder and Gazzam pleaded guilty to one count of recklessly endangering another person and...
Wilkinsburg man who strangled wife but doesn’t remember why sent to prison
A Wilkinsburg man who told police he doesn’t know why he strangled his wife to death in 2016 was sentenced by an Allegheny County judge Tuesday to 10 to 20 years in prison. Judge Thomas E. Flaherty also ordered Richard Katilius to receive mental health treatment while behind bars. Katilius,...
