Police charge Munhall man with vandalizing a district court office in Baldwin

Renatta Signorini | Thursday, November 19, 2020 10:43 p.m.

Metro Creative

A Munhall man is facing a preliminary hearing in January after police said he vandalized a district court office in Baldwin last week.

Kevin John Kiley, 25, is charged with institutional vandalism, criminal mischief and obstruction.

Baldwin police and Allegheny County chief deputy court administrator Angharad Stock said two other district court buildings — one in Forest Hills and the other McKees Rocks — were vandalized the same day.

Kiley has not been charged in connection with those crimes. Stock said municipal police and the county sheriff’s department are investigating.

Baldwin officers on patrol at 1:30 a.m. Nov. 12 spotted a black Hyundai car parked behind the Curry Commons Shopping Center and two people near the front doors of the district court office there. Police weren’t able to catch up with the pair or the car before they fled, according to court papers.

But they did find that foam had been sprayed into the space between the doors and glue poured into the lock and door hinges, police said.

A paper sign reading “eviction is violence” was affixed to the doors, and a bicycle lock was placed around the handles.

Stock and police said that the other two district court buildings were vandalized in a similar manner.

Baldwin police tracked Kiley down from the temporary registration on the Hyundai he recently purchased, according to court papers. They found the car, which police said appeared to have dried foam on the door handle, on his Munhall street.

Inside the car, police said they found a notebook listing a few municipalities and details about eviction proceedings in Pittsburgh.

Officers are attempting to identify the other person believed to have been involved in the Baldwin incident, according to court papers.

Stock said the three court offices were able to open as normal that day. Kiley is free on $2,500 unsecured bail. A Jan. 13 preliminary hearing is set. His attorney could not be reached.

Evictions for nonpayment of rent were prohibited in Pennsylvania this year because of business restrictions enacted by state officials meant to slow the coronavirus pandemic. That ban has since been lifted.