Justin Vellucci stories, Page 40
Activists: Shell cracker plant not living up to ‘good neighbor’ promises
Shell is withholding or slow to release information to the public about flaring, orange glows in the sky and strange noises at its ethylene cracker plant in Beaver County, which started operating in November, an environmental group said this week. Noise complaints from residents — mostly about intermittent “popping sounds”...
Gainey wants to triple number of police in Downtown Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey wants to triple the number of city police officers patrolling Downtown and open a new public safety center there, according to city officials and a letter obtained by the Tribune-Review. Gainey spokeswoman Maria Montano said the mayor’s Downtown Public Safety Initiative has been in the works...
Pittsburgh police staffing shortage at ‘tipping point,’ officials say
Pittsburgh police ranks could drop below 700 officers by the start of 2025, leaving the bureau depleted and with low morale, officials said during a wide-ranging, three-hour city council meeting Tuesday on the state of policing in the city. Thirty-five Pittsburgh police officers retired in 2022; another 39 resigned last...
McKeesport mayoral candidate pardoned for 1993 drug convictions faces new drug charges
A McKeesport mayoral hopeful who was previously pardoned for a 1993 drug conviction is now accused of being part of what the state Attorney General’s Office called a major drug ring in Allegheny County. Corry J. Sanders, 52, was one of seven men charged on Dec. 30 following an 11-month...
Woman charged in fatal hit-and-run in Ross
Ross Police arrested a woman in connection with a fatal pedestrian hit-and-run that occurred Jan. 13 on Babcock Boulevard. Erin Lee Petroski, 39, of Ross, is charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence (DUI), involuntary manslaughter, accidents involving death, DUI, driving at an unsafe speed, and careless...
Assault, harassment charges against former Pittsburgh mayoral candidate Tony Moreno thrown out
A Pittsburgh judge on Monday threw out charges against a former city mayoral candidate who police accused of threatening a man with a shotgun. District Judge Mik Pappas dismissed a simple assault charge against Anthony “Tony” Moreno, 54, the Republican nominee for mayor in 2021, and a harassment charge was...
Car topples gas-station pump in East Pittsburgh
A car crashed into a gas station parking lot early Monday, toppling a gas-station pump. An 18-year-old woman was driving along Lincoln Highway in East Pittsburgh when, just before 2 a.m., she lost control of the car, spun counter-clockwise and struck a gas-station pump, knocking it over, state police said....
Judge finds Post-Gazette broke labor law, orders newspaper to bargain with striking workers
A judge ruled Thursday that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette violated federal law by bargaining in bad faith with its journalists union and unilaterally implementing working conditions after breaking off negotiations for a new contract. Judge Geoffrey Carter of the National Labor Relations Board ordered the Post-Gazette to end the impasse it...
Man identified who was shot in the head and found in Pittsburgh’s Elliott neighborhood
Pittsburgh police are investigating a fatal shooting that left a Dravosburg man dead in the city’s Elliott neighborhood. Police said they responded around 9:30 a.m. Thursday to reports that a man had been found in a wooded area near Herrod and Bond streets in Elliott. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s...
Registered sex offender arrested on North Side on new sex assault charges
The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday arrested a fugitive registered sex offender who it said was wanted on bench warrants and new sex assault charges. Youssiff Howie, 26, is a Tier 1 registered sex offender who is required to register with authorities for 15 years. He last registered in...
Police arrest suspect in December homicide in Brighton Heights
An argument over custody of a child escalated into a fatal shooting late last year, and Pittsburgh police say they now have the man who pulled the trigger in custody. Corey Washington drove to the parking lot of a Family Dollar store in Pittsburgh’s Brighton Heights on the afternoon of...
13-year-old arrested in connection with robbery, abduction of Pittsburgh pizza delivery driver
A 13-year-old boy has been arrested and charged in connection with the Jan. 3 robbery and abduction of a pizza delivery driver in Pittsburgh’s Elliott neighborhood. Pittsburgh police did not identify the teen. Police spokeswoman Amanda Mueller said the boy has not been charged as an adult because of his...
Medical examiner releases cause of death for toddler killed in Shaler fire
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Tuesday that a 2-year-old girl killed in a Shaler house fire died of smoke and fume inhalation. The death of Danika Deramo was ruled an accident. The fire happened Jan. 13 at 750 Falls Run Road, a wooded side street near the township’s...
Contractors hit with $1.1M fine for illegal asbestos removal at Churchill property
The Allegheny County Health Department has fined a contractor nearly $1.1 million for illegally disposing of asbestos while renovating the former Westinghouse headquarters in Churchill. An environmental group called the contractor’s disregard for the asbestos-containing material “unconscionable” and said the fine “is a victory for public health.” “Their reckless behavior...
Teen critically injured in McKeesport shooting
A teenage boy was critically injured in a shooting Monday afternoon in McKeesport, according to Allegheny County Police. Police said officers responded to a report of shots fired in the area of Dinsmore and Meadow streets just before 2:30 p.m. First responders found a teenage boy, who was not identified,...
3 Pittsburghers charged with domestic terrorism following Georgia incident
Seven people, including three from Pittsburgh, are facing charges of domestic terrorism after a shoot-out Wednesday at the future site of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center in Georgia. Spencer Bernard Liberto, 29, Matthew Ernest Macar, 30, and Sarah Wasilewski, 35, were taken to DeKalb County Jail earlier this week...
Police arrest suspect in armed robbery of East Liberty store
Pittsburgh police said they arrested a suspect in the Jan. 9 armed robbery of an East Liberty tobacco and lottery store. Dean Tyler, 23, no address available, faces charges of robbery, carrying a firearm without a license and theft by unlawful taking in connection with the armed robbery of Mike’s...
Slain Monroeville teen remembered as ‘sweetest person’
Eloisa Creighton has read the flood of online comments and social media posts about her grandson, Aceyn Ausbrook, who was shot and killed last weekend outside a Monroeville birthday party. Now, she said she wants to add her voice to the chorus. “People say it all the time, but he...
2-year-old girl killed in Shaler fire remembered as ‘angel-like’
Kathy Palmer was working the night shift at a GetGo in Wexford when she got the call from her son as Friday turned into Saturday around midnight. “Something really bad has happened,” Palmer recalled him saying. “There was a fire and Dani didn’t make it.” Danika Deramo, Palmer’s 2-year-old granddaughter,...
Pedestrian hospitalized after being hit by car on Vandergrift Bridge
A pedestrian was taken to a hospital via helicopter Sunday night after being hit by a car on the Vandergrift bridge, authorities said. Vandergrift police and firefighters responded to the incident on the bridge at 6:21 p.m. Sunday, closing it to traffic as a helicopter was set to land at...
Police: One-car wreck in Churchill sends 3 to hospital
A car crash in Churchill sent three people to the hospital, authorities said Sunday. The one-car wreck occurred near the intersection of Lewin Lane and Beulah Road around 3 p.m., according to an Allegheny County 911 shift supervisor. Details were not available on the injuries or conditions of the hospitalized...
Police: Masked woman attacked traffic flagger with baseball bat
A Verona woman recently attacked a traffic flagger while wearing a Halloween mask, police say. Northern Regional Police charged Rebecca Metz, 43, with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, and harassment in connection with the Jan. 5 incident. She was in Saturday at Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh unable to...
Man arrested, charged with shooting wife, abandoning her on Pittsburgh highway
Allegheny County sheriffs have arrested a man who was wanted for allegedly shooting his wife earlier this winter and leaving her injured on the side of a highway. Kevin Crew, 37, whose home address is unknown, had been wanted since Nov. 28, 2022 for the shooting incident, when he left...
McIntire memorial items sold as fundraiser for fallen chief’s family in Tarentum
By the time Zach Meso arrived Saturday at noon at the Tarentum Borough Building to buy items memorializing fallen Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire, the T-shirts were long sold out and the Sunday sale was cancelled due to a lack of available merchandise. Meso didn’t seem bothered. The Natrona Heights...
Pittsburgh police: Carrick homicide was a robbery over $190 in marijuana
A shooting early Sunday that claimed the life of a 21-year-old Carrick man stemmed from a drug deal gone awry, according to criminal complaints filed against the suspects. Four young men — Maurice Nelson, Amier Windsor, Korie Miller and a male juvenile identified as “Conspirator #4” — scrolled through Windsor’s...
