Justin Vellucci stories, Page 35
Bethel Park police lieutenant charged in illegal immigrant transport case
A Bethel Park police lieutenant was taken into federal custody Thursday afternoon after authorities said he transported an illegal immigrant. FBI spokesperson Catherine Coennen confirmed that Lt. Blake Thomas Babin, 59, of Bethel Park, is in custody. He is facing a felony charge of transporting an illegal immigrant, according to...
Braddock man gets 12 to 24 years in prison for role in fentanyl ring
A Braddock man was sentenced to 12 to 24 years in prison for running a million-dollar fentanyl drug ring. Domonique Taylor, 39, pleaded guilty to felony drug trafficking, gun possession and money-laundering charges, state Attorney General Michelle Henry said Thursday. In March 2022, the state Attorney General’s office and local...
New Kensington auto show brings joy to community, car lovers
Each car displayed Sunday at The River Community Church’s 17th annual car show in New Kensington had a story. But Chris Laskowski’s story is a pretty wild one. Laskowski’s father, Stephen, spent $3,400 at a Monroeville dealership, after arriving home from the Vietnam War in 1970, to buy a brand-new...
Springdale, Oakmont Scouts plant flags at Harmar cemetery for Memorial Day
Boy Scout Alexander Fugate walked up to the grave of Joseph S. Senti, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and died in 1970, and replaced a slightly tattered U.S. flag Sunday with a fresh one. On a sun-splashed morning, Fugate then walked a few more steps...
East Liberty man accused of robbing Shadyside bank arrested
An East Liberty man was arrested Saturday after being accused of robbing a Shadyside bank, authorities said. Pittsburgh Police charged Rashon Coleman, 29, with two counts of robbery and one count theft by unlawful taking for stealing $25,045 from the PNC Bank at 5932 Centre Ave. Coleman entered the bank...
Memorial ceremony held as Brackenridge changes Third Avenue street signs to McIntire Way, honoring slain chief
Rain fell gently on a wooden podium framed by flags and wreaths as Lori McIntire walked up to the microphone, then choked out the words. “Third Avenue is where Justin was born and raised,” said Lori McIntire — a 50-year resident of Third Avenue, clad in a gray t-shirt memorializing...
Indiana Township wows young kids with its first-ever ‘Touch-a-Truck’ event
Indiana Township firefighter Mike Klier had a message Saturday morning for 4-year-old Gia Chanampa as he handed her a yellow, plastic firefighters helmet from his firetruck. “You’ve gotta drink your milk and eat your vegetables if you want to be a firefighter,” said Klier, 59, a Shaler resident who responds...
Allison Park man found stabbed to death near North Side homeless encampment
A man described as a “success story” for working his way out of homelessness was found stabbed to death Friday morning near a homeless encampment in Pittsburgh’s North Side. Michael Dodson, 30, of Allison Park, was found around 6:45 a.m. in a wooded area near an encampment off Route 28,...
Pittsburgh man accused of shooting 2 men outside Strip District bar
A Pittsburgh man is accused of shooting two men after an argument late last month outside a Strip District bar. Jaquan Steadman, 24, faces charges including two counts each of attempted homicide and reckless endangerment and four counts of aggravated assault, online court records show. Pittsburgh police said they responded...
Pittsburgh’s acting police chief addresses racial profiling, police brutality in City Council interview
Larry Scirotto, Pittsburgh’s acting police chief, said Thursday during a four-hour interview with City Council that his officers should follow a ban on minor traffic stops. City Council voted in late 2021 to ban police from pulling over drivers for minor infractions such as having a burned-out brake light or...
Man dies in head-on crash in North Versailles
A 65-year-old man was killed in a head-on crash Tuesday afternoon in North Versailles, according to authorities. North Versailles police said the two-vehicle crash happened around 3:15 p.m. on East Pittsburgh-McKeesport Boulevard near Braddock Avenue. A 19-year-old man driving an SUV with a 16-year-old female passenger crossed the median and...
Firefighters respond to Pittsburgh Airbnb where 2 were killed in shooting last year
Firefighters on Wednesday morning responded to a North Side house where two teens were killed and eight people were injured in an Easter morning shooting last year. Around 10 a.m., smoke was coming from the roof of the home at Suismon Street and Madison Avenue in East Allegheny. By 11:30...
Dugan knocks off longtime incumbent Zappala in Democratic race for Allegheny County DA
Allegheny County Chief Public Defender Matt Dugan knocked off longtime District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. in Tuesday night’s Democratic primary race for DA, unofficial tallies showed. But it might not be the last time the candidates face each other. With nearly 168,000 votes tallied and 98% of precincts reporting...
McKeesport man gets 20 to 40 years in connection with 2020 shooting
A McKeesport man was sentenced Tuesday to 20 to 40 years in prison in connection with a March 2020 shooting that left a person paralyzed from the waist down, but his attorney said he likely will appeal the case to Superior Court. A jury in February found Jamont Neal, 32,...
Larry Scirotto takes reins of Pittsburgh police with list of priorities
The man in line to become Pittsburgh’s next police chief will be tasked with improving more than just public safety. Observers say Larry Scirotto also will need to improve discipline, morale, diversity and training within the Pittsburgh police department, while boosting recruitment and community relations outside of it. “You have...
3 hurt in North Braddock crash
Three people were hospitalized Monday afternoon after a head-on crash in North Braddock. The two vehicles involved crashed near Lincoln Highway and Electric Avenue around 12:20 p.m., Allegheny County Police said. Three people were taken to area hospitals in stable condition, police said. Police did not identify them. Police are...
Bedford Dwellings death ruled a homicide
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled the Jan. 27 death of a woman in Pittsburgh’s Bedford Dwellings as a homicide. Markeyta Daniels, 24, of the North Side, was found unresponsive in a residence in the 2200 block of Somers Drive around 1 a.m. and later pronounced dead, the...
Police investigate suspicious death of Mt. Lebanon man
Allegheny County police said they are investigating a suspicious death in Mt. Lebanon. At 2:58 p.m. Saturday, Mt. Lebanon Police responded to the 200 block of Academy Avenue for reports of a dead man whose body had been discovered by a family member. Police said they found trauma to the...
West Mifflin man get 15 to 35 years for beating mother to death, leaving her to die
A West Mifflin man was sentenced Thursday to 15 to 35 years in prison for violently beating his 80-year-old mother and leaving her to die in their basement in 2019. Kenneth Burdick, 45, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to third-degree murder in the death of Dolores Burdick. Heath Leff, a...
Pittsburgh woman charged in fentanyl death of her 7-month-old granddaughter
Allegheny County police charged a second person in connection with the fatal fentanyl poisoning of a 7-month-old Penn Hills infant — the girl’s grandmother. Barbara Ann Dunlap-Toombs, 66, of Larimer, turned herself in to sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday. She is charged with involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of children and...
5 injured in head-on crash involving car, Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus
At least five people were injured when a man drove his car head-on into a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus Wednesday morning on the North Side, according to the transit agency. The driver hit the inbound 8 Perrysville bus around 10 a.m. near Cedar Avenue and Suismon Street in East Allegheny,...
Family of man who died after being tackled by Beaver County police officer settles wrongful death suit for $950K
The sister of a Beaver County man who died in November after being tackled by a Center Township police officer has settled with the officer and the township for $950,000. Deborah Little agreed Thursday to the nearly $1 million settlement, 40% of which was attributed to the wrongful death of...
Highland Park residents call on Pittsburgh officials to close nearby police firing rangeVideo
A Highland Park community group called on Pittsburgh officials Tuesday to shut down the city police force’s nearby open-air firing range, calling the sound of gunfire emanating from the 40-year-old facility “a public health issue.” “We want (police) to get their training but it’s not a comforting sound — it’s...
No major incidents during marathon weekend in Pittsburgh, officials say
There were “no major safety or security incidents” during a busy May weekend in Pittsburgh, which included the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, three Pittsburgh Pirates games, and Cinco de Mayo celebrations, Pittsburgh public safety officials said Monday. The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Pittsburgh Bureau of EMS, and Pittsburgh Bureau...
Tarentum man receives probation for child-related incidents
An Allegheny County judge sentenced a Tarentum man to five years of probation for incidents involving a child over a period of years. Craig Lombardi, 40, pleaded guilty Tuesday to three charges related to the assaults — corruption of minors, endangering the welfare of children and simple assault — in...
