Trial ordered for Tarentum sisters, boyfriend accused of staging August robbery at Asay's newsstand

Two sisters and one of their boyfriends will stand trial on charges they conspired to stage a robbery at Asay’s newsstand in Tarentum in late August.

Investigators say April Baczynski, who worked as a clerk at Asay’s, and Leah Baczynski came up with the idea with Leah’s boyfriend, Connor Whited, to get money to pay bills and buy fentanyl.

April Baczynski, 30; Leah Baczynski, 24; and Whited, 26, were charged by Tarentum police with theft, criminal conspiracy and receiving stolen property.

They waived their right to preliminary hearings Oct. 24 before District Judge Carolyn Bengel, who ordered them to stand trial in Allegheny County. Formal arraignment for the Baczynskis is scheduled for Nov. 20. Whited’s arraignment will be Nov. 28, according to court records.

Investigators initially believed April Baczynski had been robbed at knifepoint by a man dressed all in black, wearing gloves and sunglasses with a mask over his face.

After the robbery, police got a call from a person saying he saw a man matching the suspect’s description walk into a residence in the 700 block of South Ormond Street in Tarentum, where the sisters and Whited lived, according to a criminal complaint.

Police said the trio admitted to staging the robbery when they were brought into the police station for questioning.

Each of them told investigators they were having a hard time paying their bills when they came up with the idea to get “fast money” by robbing Asay’s, the complaint said.

Police were given permission to search the home, where they found the clothes they say Whited wore during the robbery in the garbage and the knife that was displayed under the back porch.

The store’s owner said about $1,000 was taken. Whited told police the money was used to buy fentanyl and pay bills. He handed over $55 to investigators when he was arrested, according to a criminal complaint.

Whited and Leah Baczynski also are facing charges in connection with other incidents.

Court records show Whited was charged by New Kensington police June 5 with a felony count of theft. A preliminary hearing on the charge before District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. is scheduled for Nov. 30, court records show.

Whited also entered a no-contest plea Oct. 26 to misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia filed by New Kensington police in July 2022. He was sentenced to six months of probation, according to court records.

New Kensington police charged Leah Baczynski with misdemeanor counts of theft and receiving stolen property on March 22, according to court records. She is awaiting trial in Westmoreland County Court.

Baczynski also is awaiting trial on felony charges of theft and receiving stolen property filed by Tarentum police in June 2022.

Trial dates for both cases have not yet been scheduled.