Police say Beaver County man confessed to killing boy who smoked pot with his daughter

Family and friends plan to pay their respects Wednesday to a 17-year-old Ellwood City boy shot to death last week outside a New Castle pizza shop by his girlfriend’s father — a Beaver County man who police say confessed to killing the teen because he believed the boy had gotten his daughter hooked on drugs.

Darren “Scotty” Jevcak died Friday after he was shot outside Scustie’s Super Pizza on Highland Avenue, where he worked as a delivery driver. He was about to enter his senior year at Lincoln High School.

“A caring and helpful person, Darren enjoyed weightlifting and spending precious time with his family and many friends,” Jevcak’s family wrote in his obituary.

Michael D’Biagio, 41, of Beaver Falls is charged with homicide and aggravated assault in connection with Jevcak’s death.

D’Biagio told police and witnesses that he shot Jevcak several times — including in the head — because he blamed the boy for having “got his daughter on drugs or coke,” police wrote in a criminal complaint filed in Lawrence County.

Moments after the shooting, when the pizza shop’s owner asked D’Biagio why he did it, D’Biagio replied that the victim “got D’Biagio’s daughter hooked on cocaine and so this is what drug dealers get,” the complaint said.

New Castle police Chief Robert Salem has said there’s no evidence of Jevcak or D’Biagio’s daughter involved in drugs besides smoking marijuana at a party.

D’Biagio confesses to shooting

During an interview with New Castle police Sgt. Sheila Panella, D’Biagio said that all last week, he’d been hearing things he didn’t like about his daughter and her boyfriend, Jevcak, the complaint said.

So, on Friday afternoon, while his daughter was shopping at the mall with his wife, D’Biagio called the girl about what he’d heard — that she and Jevcak had been sneaking off in the middle of the night to buy weed and were using cocaine, D’Biagio told investigators.

According to the criminal complaint, D’Biagio next called Jevcak and asked where he was. Jevcak answered and told D’Biagio that he was at Scustie’s.

After hanging up, the complaint states, D’Biagio went to his bedroom, grabbed his 9mm handgun, drove to the pizza shop and parked his car in the lot.

Shortly before 5:30 p.m., D’Biagio saw Jevcak exiting the shop’s back door, and D’Biagio got out of his car.

D’Biagio told police he recalled firing his gun at Jevcak “a total of five or six times.”

Jevcak fell to the ground.

D’Biagio then walked up to the boy, pointed his gun toward his face and shot him again, according to police statements from D’Biagio and multiple witnesses.

D’Biagio later told investigators that he shot Jevcak in the head “so that he could put Jevcak out of his misery because Jevcak looked to be in shock,” the complaint said.

By the time emergency responders got to the parking lot, Jevcak was unconscious, bleeding heavily and not moving, the complaint said.

Medics took him to UPMC Jameson hospital, where he died a short time later, police said.

Police found a 9mm handgun registered to D’Biagio. Shell casings were scattered across the parking lot and nearby street.

New Castle homicide detectives continue to investigate.

Funeral planned for Thursday

The pizza shop initially told customers they were closing early because of a power outage, then posted to Facebook an apology and message of condolences for the family of Jevcak.

“Unfortunately, the fact remains that we lost our Darren, and we are stunned and horrified by this event,” the owner wrote. “Rest In Peace Darren.”

Jevcak is survived by his biological and adoptive parents, his aunt, two brothers, three sisters and grandparents.

A visitation is planned from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday and at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Samuel Teolis Funeral Home and Crematory Inc. in Ellwood City. A memorial service is set to begin at 11:30 a.m. at the funeral home, with the Rev. John Yergan officiating.

Family members asked that memorial contributions be made in Darren/Scotty Jevcak’s name to the Lawrence County Humane Society.