Justin Vellucci stories, Page 25
Neighbor describes ‘war’-like explosion that destroyed Sewickley Heights cottage
Rich Engler was sitting with a friend in his Sewickley Heights home when the neighborhood shook. “All of a sudden, this immense blast took place — we thought something had hit our place,” said Engler, 77, a local music producer who’s lived among the borough’s massive estates and rolling hills...
Man robbed Hill District convenience store at gunpoint, police say
A Hill District man is accused of robbing a convenience store around the corner from his home at gunpoint late Monday and running away with $440 in cash. Pittsburgh police said they arrested Quintin Briskey, 33, around 11:50 p.m. on Webster Avenue, less than one-fifth of a mile from the...
Driver killed after crashing car through embankment, falling upside-down atop garage
First responders struggled to free a woman killed Monday afternoon after she drove her car over a 30- to 40-foot embankment in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood, flipping the vehicle upside-down and landing atop an abandoned garage below. Firefighters’ feet literally sunk into the roof of the garage, which already was caving...
Tree of Life unveils memorial to victims of 2018 synagogue shooting
It’s been five long years since Diane Rosenthal’s brothers, Cecil and David, were killed during a Saturday morning Shabbat service in Squirrel Hill. Part of her family’s struggle has been deciding how to ask Pittsburgh and others to remember the two Jewish congregants known to their community as “the boys.”...
Rooster’s Roadhouse employee remembers 1800s-era Collier tavern destroyed by fire
Tiffany Parnes had worked at Rooster’s Roadhouse in Collier for only a couple of weeks. But she sensed something special about the historic tavern, from its wood-paneled walls and game room’s high-backed chairs to the homemade, honey jalapeno-flavored relish in which it marinated its Buffalo wings every Wednesday. “Their food...
Pittsburgh pays Dr. Bennet Omalu $10K to investigate man’s death after police run-in
Pittsburgh paid a famous pathologist $10,000 this week to investigate the death of a homeless man who city police shocked repeatedly with a Taser in October 2021. Tuesday’s payment to Dr. Bennet Omalu came eight months after the city settled a lawsuit with the man’s family for $8 million. The...
Record 41st gun seized at Pittsburgh International Airport checkpoint, TSA says
Allegheny County Police arrested a Pittsburgh man on Wednesday after authorities said he brought a loaded gun to Pittsburgh International Airport. Transportation Security Administration officers’ move to confiscate the .380-caliber handgun, which was loaded with six bullets, brings the total number of guns caught at the airport’s checkpoints this year...
Pitt students, friends hold memorial vigil for pedestrian killed by UPMC shuttle bus
Emily Watson read books voraciously, exercised each day at the gym, and drove frequently to Presque Isle Beach, where she liked to watch the sun set over Lake Erie and reflect. A Pittsburgher and Point Park University alumna, Watson supervised the transport department at UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Oakland and...
Ex-con headed to Allegheny County court in fatal Stowe Township shooting
A jitney-driving ex-con who said he was looking to buy drugs is headed to Allegheny County court next month in connection with the fatal Nov. 22 shooting of a Stowe Township man, authorities said. Allegheny County Police had charged Arrmon Hagans, 43, of Wilkinsburg, with criminal homicide; three counts each...
3 hospitalized after fire in 6th-floor cell at Allegheny County Jail
Three people were hospitalized late Monday after a small fire broke out at the Allegheny County Jail, Pittsburgh police said. Police and firefighters responded to the jail on Second Avenue at about 10:30 p.m. for reports of “smoke inside the building,” police spokeswoman Cara Cruz said. Firefighters found the smoke...
Nationwide youth gun-violence epidemic hitting teens, families in Pittsburgh region
Attorney Casey White has seen youth violence surge. Since the North Hills native launched his career 13 years ago as a criminal defense lawyer in Pittsburgh, he has witnessed gun violence involving children and teens grow exponentially. He said he has never had as many juvenile clients in jail awaiting...
Teen charged as adult in connection with deadly shooting in Munhall
A 16-year-old boy remained in Allegheny County Jail on Friday afternoon on charges that he fatally shot a man two weeks ago in Munhall. Allegheny County Police responded around 4 a.m. Nov. 15 to the 500 block of East Ninth Avenue for reports of a shooting, police spokesman Jim Madalinsky...
Pittsburgh fuzz-rockers Melt to host live set Friday to celebrate vinyl debut
Ask 10 people for the best way to describe fuzz-rock band Melt and nine of them likely will talk about the Pittsburgh trio’s thunderous volume. Just ask Jacob Gardner. Earlier this summer, the South Side resident and part-time punk bassist discovered Melt while scrolling through websites, searching for concerts to...
Squirrel Hill native prepares to go to war alongside Israel Defense Forces
As a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas entered its seventh day Thursday, Isaac Nadoff waited. The fourth-generation Pittsburgher said Wednesday he was prepared to march with the Israel Defense Forces into the war-torn Gaza Strip whenever the cease-fire ended. “I’m just in a steady state of readiness,” said Nadoff,...
White Oak man faces sex assault charges
A White Oak man is accused of sexually assaulting two young girls. Allegheny County Police filed charges against Yosef Hirsch, 53, including aggravated indecent assault, indecent exposure, indecent assault, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor, court records show. Hirsch’s attorney was not listed in court records. He...
Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa falls victim to cyberattack, feds say
Federal and state security officials said a poor or even default password could be the weak link that enabled hackers to break into a Pittsburgh-area water system. The Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa suffered the cyberattack on Saturday, with several media outlets displaying images of a screen from the authority...
Woman identified who died after shuttle bus struck her in Oakland
The woman who died Wednesday morning after a shuttle bus struck her in Oakland has been identified. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Emily Watson, 29, of Pittsburgh. Watson was a UPMC employee and was struck by a UPMC shuttle while she was walking, according to...
New Kensington man gets court date in fentanyl-related Route 28 crash case
A New Kensington man accused of being under the influence of fentanyl this summer, blacking out on Route 28 and crashing his car with his 5-year-old son in the back seat is headed to Allegheny County Court. Ryan Joseph Walsh, 29, was driving a Chevrolet Silverado southbound on Route 28...
Former Pittsburgh man reunites with nephews held hostage by Hamas for over 50 days
It took Ziv Gome four hours to race from Israel’s Eilat to Tel Aviv — roughly the distance from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg — to reunite with his two young nephews, who were released late Monday after being held hostage by Hamas militants for more than 50 days. The trek across...
Man shot in leg in Clairton, hospitalized
A man was hospitalized Saturday night after being shot in Clairton. Police responded to the 500 block of Elm Street at 7:49 p.m. and found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg, Allegheny County Police spokesman Jim Madalinsky said. The man, an adult who Madalinsky did not...
TSA nabs 40th gun of year at Pittsburgh International Airport
Pittsburgh International Airport security stopped a North Hills man Saturday from boarding a flight while carrying a handgun, the 40th firearm Transportation Security Administration officers have confiscated this year to date at the Findlay airport. The man’s .380-caliber handgun — which was loaded with seven bullets, including one in the...
Pittsburgh diocese merges two parishes into one, dropping total to 60
Two Catholic churches will be combined into a new parish in 2024, diocesan officials announced Saturday. The Saint Maria Goretti and Our Lady of the Angels parishes will become the Saint Pio of Pietrelchina Parish on Jan. 1, Bishop David Zubik said. The new parish will serve the Bloomfield, Garfield...
Shoppers flock to New Ken for 3rd annual Small Business Saturday
Mary Ringbloom grabbed an ax by its wooden handle Saturday afternoon and lunged toward at a target on the nearby wall. The ax missed the bull’s-eye, ricocheting to the ground. “Try to hold it steady and throw hard,” said her coach — and co-owner of the ax-throwing venue — Brian...
Shoppers forgo the internet, fill Oakmont business district for Small Business Saturday
When Mystery Lovers Bookshop opened in 1990 on Oakmont’s brick-lined Allegheny River Boulevard, it didn’t contend with online shopping. There was no Amazon Prime service, no Target app, no click-n-ship from Walmart.com. But co-owner Tara Goldberg-DeLeo said the quaint bookstore, with its checkerboard floors and the smell of fresh paper...
Casey touts Senate legislation to improve coal miners’ access to black lung benefits
It’s been difficult for Tony Kodric to breathe since an injury a decade ago ended the Uniontown man’s 36-year career as a coal miner. He’s seen specialists, repeatedly measured the oxygen in his blood and battled coal companies. Despite Kodric’s efforts, the federal government won’t grant him monetary benefits for...
