Justin Vellucci stories, Page 41
4 Pittsburgh teens used BB gun to shoot unconscious man who later died, police say
Pittsburgh police on Friday charged four city teens with shooting an unconscious man with a BB gun multiple times while he lay in a Downtown alley in late November. The man later died from an unknown cause. Karmelo Harshey, 18; Isaiah Johnson, 16; Desmond Robinson, 15; and Lee Wilson, 16,...
Lane restrictions on Highland Park Bridge to begin Monday
Long-term lane restrictions will begin Monday on the Highland Park Bridge in Sharpsburg, PennDOT officials said this weekend. Officials plan to restrict northbound traffic, weather permitting, beginning at 7 a.m. Monday morning. The left-hand lane from the Highland Park Bridge/Freeport Road interchange to Route 28 will close Monday to traffic...
Pittsburgh police seeking info on missing 13-year-old girl
Pittsburgh police detectives are asking for the public’s help to find a missing teenager. Mae’Leigh Spriggs, 13, last was seen leaving home on Thursday, Feb. 9, police said. She was wearing a purple t-shirt, black bubble coat, shorts, and Crocs. She has some orange braids. In the past, Spriggs has...
East Palestine residents return home, clean up a week after Ohio train derailment
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — This village just over the Pennsylvania border remained somewhat of a ghost town Friday, a week after a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed and caused a dangerous fire that burned for days. On Wednesday, Ohio authorities lifted an evacuation order that had been issued...
2nd teen charged in deadly Downtown Pittsburgh shooting
A second teenager charged in connection with a deadly shooting in Downtown Pittsburgh last month shut off the GPS-enabled ankle monitor he wore as part of his probation about two weeks before the shooting, police said Thursday. Jayshon Martin, 18, of the city’s Knoxville neighborhood, was charged with criminal homicide,...
Gainey expands on plan to boost Downtown police presence
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said Thursday that by the end of March he will boost the police presence Downtown, increasing the number of officers patrolling the Central Business District from as few as 3 to a total of 18, plus supervising officers. The mayor also expanded on plans to open...
Vehicle crashes into Carl’s Tavern in Wilkins
A woman was hospitalized Thursday afternoon after her vehicle crashed through the front of a Wilkins tavern, police said. The woman lost control of her vehicle, and crashed into the front wall of Carl’s Tavern, a popular eatery on William Penn Highway, an employee told the Tribune-Review. The woman, who...
Man shot in chest in East McKeesport
A man was shot in the chest Tuesday in East McKeesport, police said. Allegheny County Police responded to the 700 block of Broadway Avenue at about 12:45 p.m. Tuesday. First responders found the man who had been shot. He was taken to an area hospital in stable condition, police said....
Woman’s blood-alcohol level was more than 5 times the legal limit after Penn Hills crash, police say
A South Side woman who police said had a blood-alcohol level of more than five times the legal limit when she was involved in a December crash that injured five people turned herself in on Friday. The two-car, head-on crash happened just before 7 p.m. Dec. 15 on Frankstown Road...
How Pittsburgh first responders rescued woman pinned under pickup
In less than 10 minutes, the lives of both a driver and a pedestrian in Pittsburgh changed this week. At about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, a gray pickup headed down an alley near Allegheny General Hospital on the North Side struck a pedestrian, police said. After dragging the young woman, who...
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,...
