Morning Roundup: Hopewell Area school bus driver suspended for alleged gun on board

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, May 17:

Hopewell Area school bus driver suspended after alleged gun incident

A Hopewell Area School District bus driver was suspended after he was accused of bringing a gun on a school bus while transporting students.

Superintendent Jeff Beltz in a letter to families said the incident happened Thursday when the unnamed driver was taking students to Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School and Midland Innovation and Technology Charter School, according to TribLive news partner WTAE.

The superintendent said a student reported seeing a revolver fall onto the bus floor. The driver immediately picked up the weapon and put it out of sight while driving, WTAE reported.

The student reported the incident to school officials, Beltz said, sparking an investigation that included district officials, officials from Lincoln Park and Hopewell Township Police.

According to Beltz, the driver admitted to having the gun while driving students Thursday. The driver did not have the gun during questioning by authorities, but did acknowledge the incident during which the gun fell to the bus floor.

Beltz said the district suspended the driver indefinitely. The driver also could face legal action, according to WTAE.

The bus was taken out of service and will be inspected to ensure nothing unsafe is in the vehicle.

Gun found in child’s room amid arrest of wanted East Pittsburgh man

An East Pittsburgh man was taken into custody after nearly nine months on the run, Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus said Thursday.

Donte Robinson-Vearnon, 25, has been a fugitive since August, when bench warrants were issued for his failing to appear for court and for a probation violation related to cases involving theft and firearms violations, officials said.

Detectives from the county sheriff’s office this week developed information that Robinson-Vearnon was in North Versailles. On Thursday, they found him at an apartment along Ice Plant Hill Road.

When detectives approached the apartment, Robinson-Vearnon pushed out a rear window screen to attempt to flee, but stayed in the apartment at the command of detectives, officials said. A woman at the apartment then opened the door to allow detectives inside.

Detectives took Robinson-Vearnon into custody without incident.

Detectives were then given consent to search the apartment. Officials said they discovered a firearm inside a laundry basket in a child’s room. The gun was stolen, according to the sheriff’s office.

Robinson-Vearnon was taken to Allegheny County Jail. He will face new charges of receiving stolen property and two additional firearms violations.

Court records indicate he was denied bail.

East Pittsburgh man accused of punching elderly man arrested

An East Pittsburgh man accused of punching an elderly man in the face last year in the Sam’s Club parking lot in Monroeville was taken into custody, Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus announced Thursday.

A bench warrant was issued in August for Terrel Byars, 24, for failure to comply with a sentence that was imposed after he pled guilty to a gun charge, officials said.

He also faced an active warrant from Monroeville police for aggravated assault after police say he punched an 84-year-old man in a Sam’s Club parking lot in August. The victim, who officials did not name, received treatment at the hospital for a swollen eye and a head injury sustained when he hit his head on the ground after falling from the punch.

Detectives were alerted this week that Byars was in Pittsburgh’s Elliot neighborhood. They found him hiding under a bed when they arrived at his Wymore Street residents, according to the county sheriff.

He was arrested without incident and taken to Allegheny County Jail.

Court records show Byars was unable to post bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 3.

Police investigate Reserve Township bank robbery

Police are investigating after the Dollar Bank on Mount Troy Road was robbed just after 1 p.m. Thursday.

Reserve Township police, Allegheny County police and the FBI converged on the bank after a robber — described as a man in his late 20s donning a Washington Capitals jersey and a black hat — entered the bank and demanded money, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. Police said he claimed to have a gun, but did not show it.

Police tried to track the suspect, including with a search dog from the Allegheny County Sheriff’s office. Ross Township brought drones to help look for a suspect as police focused on a wooded hillside along Pittview Avenue.

No one was injured.