Asay's newsstand in Tarentum robbed by man wielding knife; suspect sought

The only thought that entered April Baczynski’s mind when a knife-wielding man entered Asay’s newsstand in Tarentum on Wednesday afternoon demanding money was her baby.

“I thought it was odd that he was wearing sunglasses when he came in,” the 29-year-old store clerk said. “But I didn’t think much about it because we get so many different people in here during the day.

“He looked around the rack of chips and then came up to the counter, pulled out a knife and told me to put all the money in the bag he was carrying.

”The only thing I could think was: I have a baby, I don’t want to die,” said Baczynski, who was visibly shaken by the ordeal. “So I did what he told me to do. Then he said, ‘Don’t tell anybody about this’ and walked out.”

After the man left, Baczynski called 911 and the store’s owner, Kevin Bertocki, who left the store just moments before the robbery.

“I walked right past the guy while I was leaving, and he was walking toward the store,” said Bertocki, who has owned the newsstand since 2006.

He said it was the first time the store has been robbed.

“We’ve had a few break-ins, but nobody has ever walked in like that and robbed the place,” he said.

Police were on scene within minutes of the call to 911, said Bertocki, who estimated that the store was robbed of about $1,000.