Justin Vellucci stories, Page 37
Penn Hills man accused in Rodi Road plaza shooting arrested
A Penn Hills man who police say opened fire on a family member in a Giant Eagle parking lot has been arrested, Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin M. Kraus said Tuesday. Norman Vire, 49, was arrested by sheriff’s detectives in connection with the Dec. 5, 2021, shooting and taken to Allegheny...
Sources say Pittsburgh close to announcing new police chief from list of 3 finalists
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey is expected to name the city’s next police chief soon, possibly within days, according to those close to the hiring process. Gainey and three committees have been working, largely behind closed doors, for nearly six months to find a successor to former Chief Scott Schubert, who...
Outgoing Pittsburgh EMS chief reflects on 45-year tenure with city
Pittsburgh EMS Chief Ron Romano’s final day in uniform — March 31 — was nearly 14 years to the day since a gunman fatally shot three Pittsburgh police officers while they were responding to a domestic dispute in Stanton Heights. Romano still remembers the sense of urgency to get to...
Pittsburgh woman charged in luring incident accused in 4 similar robberies
A Beechview woman charged Wednesday in connection with an attempted robbery and shooting is accused of staging at least four other robberies in two municipalities in the past month, court records show. Pittsburgh police charged Nyzjayah Majors, 20, with aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit robbery, both felonies. She also...
Medical examiner IDs victims of Homewood shooting
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified two Pittsburghers who were fatally shot in Homewood last month. Damion Nance, 46, and Janell Ross, 47, were found dead on Frankstown Avenue late March 24, according to the medical examiner. Police said they responded to the area around 11:50 p.m. after...
Allegheny County combats opioid abuse through ‘harm reduction’ campaign
Stacie Brown remembers the date her life came crashing down — and when she started to take it back. “June 1, 2012, is the day I overdosed and stopped using,” said Brown, 51, of Pittsburgh’s Spring Hill, an overdose outreach coordinator for Allegheny County Health Department. “I remember I was...
A town derailed: ‘Shell-shocked’ East Palestine residents seek normalcy after train
For many people in and around East Palestine, Ohio, life changed when a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed Feb. 3 near the Pennsylvania border. The controlled burn of toxic chemicals that followed sent a large plume of black smoke into the air that could be seen for miles....
Former Pittsburghers in Israel protesting judicial reform alongside other Israelis
Kally Kislowicz, a former Pittsburgher who now lives in Israel, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is popular in her conservative West Bank settlement of Efrat. But she said that doesn’t make Netanyahu, known as “Bibi” to most Israelis, above reproach. Controversial judicial reforms proposed by Netanyahu have triggered protests across...
4 Pittsburgh police officers get new ranks, responsibilities
Pittsburgh police promoted four of their own officers Thursday in a ceremony at City Council chambers Downtown. Sgt. Andrew Baker was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, while Detectives Anthony Barber and Gino Macioce and Officer Sean Gavin advanced to the rank of sergeant. “These individuals have proven their knowledge,...
Bicyclist shot and killed in Bloomfield identified as former Pittsburgh city intern
Pittsburgh officials on Tuesday mourned the loss of a former city intern who was shot and killed while riding his bike through Bloomfield. Alexander Yerkey, 26, whose home address was listed as Bethel Park, died shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday after being shot in the head, the Allegheny County Medical...
Pittsburgh man who pleaded guilty to assault, car robbery in McKees Rocks arrested
A Pittsburgh man wanted on three different warrants has been taken into custody, Sheriff Kevin M. Kraus said Tuesday. Troy Royster, 28, from the city’s Homewood neighborhood, pleaded guilty in March 2022 to a number of charges in McKees Rocks, including aggravated assault and robbery of a motor vehicle. Royster...
Charges dropped against Wilmerding man accused of being part of alleged McKeesport drug ring
Charges were dropped Monday against a Wilmerding man who had been accused in a case against what the state Attorney General’s office called a major drug ring in Allegheny County. District Judge Eugene F. Riazzi Jr. withdrew all three charges against Kaleb Howard, 33. He had faced two felony charges...
Attorney: Cranberry woman to tell judge she killed boyfriend in self-defense
A Cranberry woman will tell a judge she shot and killed her boyfriend Feb. 12 in self-defense, her attorney said Monday. Amanda Mariah Hughes, who turns 27 on Friday, faces one count of criminal homicide and is being held without bail in Butler County Jail. She is set to be...
Passengers caught with 2 loaded guns at Pittsburgh International Airport
The Transportation Security Administration said officers prevented two Pennsylvania residents from bringing handguns in carry-on bags through a security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport on Friday. The weapons were the fourth and fifth guns to be stopped at the Findlay airport this year. A Pittsburgh man was caught with a...
Man pleads guilty to stealing unmarked FBI car, agent’s weapon
A Pittsburgh man on Wednesday pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing an FBI agent’s unmarked car in 2021. Lashawn Norwood, 57, of the Hill District, was charged with theft of government property. He pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Mark R. Hornak. Prosecutors said an unmarked SUV owned...
Sheriff’s office says it caught Braddock man on the run for 3 years
A Braddock man wanted on gun and drug charges since 2020 has been captured, Sheriff Kevin M. Kraus announced Tuesday. Christopher Schrock, 28, was supposed to go on trial in June 2020 on charges out of McKeesport, but he forfeited his bond and failed to show up in court, Kraus...
TSA finds 2 handguns at Pittsburgh airport checkpoint
Transportation Security Administration officers stopped two Pennsylvania residents — one of them an employee — from bringing guns through the security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport over the weekend. On Saturday, the airport employee, whom the TSA did not name, was caught with a 9 mm handgun loaded with 10...
U.S. Steel ready to close 3 of 10 batteries at Clairton Coke Works
U.S. Steel announced it will shut down three of Clairton Coke Work’s 10 coke batteries this month, which it projects will reduce emissions from the plant. The decision to close the site’s three oldest batteries at the Mon Valley’s biggest source of airborne pollutants originally was announced two years ago...
Morning Roundup: Weekend forecast to include rain, cold, maybe snow
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, March 17, 2023: Weekend forecast to include rain, cold, maybe snow The weekend ahead in Western Pennsylvania will be a little bit of a sometimes-wet, sometimes-cool situation, with a small chance of snow Saturday. Rain is expected Friday...
Woman arrested after kids injured in car crash in Elizabeth Township
A woman was arrested and two children were taken to the hospital after a crash in Elizabeth Township on Thursday. The crash took place in the 800 block of McKeesport Road, Elizabeth Township police told Tribune-Review news partner WPXI. Police said they took the driver, Kristi Assenti, into custody on...
Norfolk Southern CEO: ‘I understand my responsibility’ in Ohio derailment cleanup
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw confidently chugged a glass of East Palestine, Ohio, tap water in front of a group of reporters Thursday as he promised to clean the site of a fiery train derailment and invest in local rebuilding efforts. “We’ve been not only engaged here ever since the...
Butler security guard tries to thwart theft of Easter decorations, gets dragged by car going 35 mph
A Butler County mall security guard was dragged by a vehicle Wednesday afternoon while trying to stop the theft of Easter decorations. State police said they responded to Clearview Mall in Center Township around 3:45 p.m. after receiving a report that people had stolen a 3-foot foam carrot and piñata...
Kennywood pits rides against each other a la March Madness
Kennywood is asking fans of the West Mifflin amusement park to pick their favorite park rides, March Madness-style. The park recently announced its bracket-driven competition on social media. Twitter users “get to help crown our fan-favorite ride” over the course of three rounds and a championship, the park wrote while...
Morning Roundup: 2-alarm fire at Turtle Creek duplex
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, March 16, 2023: 2-alarm fire at Turtle Creek duplex First responders were called to the scene of a two-alarm house fire in Turtle Creek early Thursday. The call about the fire came in at 3:53 a.m., Allegheny County...
Fire destroys Sewickley Township home; no injuries reported
A fire destroyed a home in Sewickley Township, Westmoreland County, late Wednesday night. Calls about the fire, located in a rural area on Orchard Drive near Herminie, came in at 11:08 p.m., according to Westmoreland County Public Safety. The house was fully engulfed shortly after 11 p.m., Tribune-Review news partner...
