Justin Vellucci stories, Page 2
MLK Day in New Kensington highlights tech, community and the power of dreams
When Darryl Johnson talked Monday about celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. on what would have been the civil rights leader’s 97th birthday, four words came to the New Kensington pastor’s mind — a variation on King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. “My dreams matter, too.” “It’s not just mine...
Pittsburgh police use Taser on man after domestic call
A Pittsburgh police officer deployed a Taser on a man after a domestic incident early Monday in the city’s North Side. Police said they were dispatched around 7:45 a.m. to the 2100 block of Rhine Street in Pittsburgh’s Spring Hill-City View neighborhood. A man — who police later identified as...
Woman escapes injury in Harrison house fire
Nobody was injured in a house fire Monday afternoon in Harrison. Firefighters from a half-dozen companies responded at 2:15 p.m. to the fire, which started near the rear of a single-family home at 809 Jefferson Ave. A woman who lives in the house was the only person inside when the...
Man stabbed in North Side argument
A man was stabbed in the neck early Monday following an argument in Pittsburgh’s North Side. The victim, who police have not named, was hospitalized in stable condition, police said. Pittsburgh police were dispatched to the 400 block of Mount Pleasant Road in the city’s Northview Heights neighborhood around 5:30...
Judge delays ruling on Millvale’s $2M emergency loan request
A judge Friday delayed his ruling on Millvale’s emergency request to take out a $2 million loan to fend off a potential budget crisis. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge John T. McVay, Jr. said he needs the consultant guiding debt restructuring for the municipality of 3,300 residents to testify before...
Steelers’ former sales manager, a gay woman, sues team for gender discrimination
A gay woman who worked as a corporate sales manager for the Pittsburgh Steelers has sued the team, claiming she did not receive pay equal to her male peers and was discriminated against because of her gender and sexual orientation. Attorneys for the former employee, Allegheny County resident Chelsea Zahn,...
Judge signals support for emergency $2M loan for Millvale
A judge Thursday morning said he was “leaning toward” green-lighting an emergency request by Millvale to take out a $2 million loan to avert a looming budget crisis. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge John T. McVay Jr. did not rule from the bench on the borough’s request but said he’d...
Century III Mall demolition nears end as potential buyer voices interest
Demolition of Century III Mall, whose decades-long fall from grace saw the third-largest mall in the world collapse into “a monument to blight,” is expected to wrap up by spring, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said Wednesday. A potential buyer has voiced interest in developing the 100-acre...
Ex-boyfriend gets up to 60 years for killing woman at Bellevue bus stop
A Pittsburgh man is headed to prison for up to 60 years for killing an ex-girlfriend with her own gun. DeAngelo Zieglar, 29, pleaded guilty Tuesday to murdering Rachel Dowden four years ago after the 28-year-old woman walked from her job at a Cricket cellphone store to a Bellevue bus...
Man who shot Monroeville police sergeant sent to prison for attempted homicide
A Beaver County man convicted of trying to kill a Monroeville police officer is headed to prison for up to 70 years. Jamal Brooks wounded Monroeville Sgt. James J. MacDonald in the Jan. 3, 2024, shooting. Brooks, 34, of Aliquippa was sentenced Monday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court to...
Bikers berserk: 10 to stand trial in Washington County bar brawl said to involve War Dogs, Pagans
A district judge Friday tossed out dozens of charges stemming from a violent biker brawl last year at a Washington County bar that prosecutors called part of a yearslong turf battle between “outlaw motorcycle gangs.” Authorities accused the defendants of savagely beating a bar patron from a rival gang with...
Morning roundup: Somerset County man killed in 2-vehicle crash; SWAT standoff ends with 1 person in custody
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Jan. 8: ______________________________ Somerset County man killed in 2-vehicle crash A man was killed Wednesday night in a two-vehicle crash in Fayette County. Michael Duritsky Jr., 28, of Addison, a tiny Somerset County town 5 miles north of...
McKeesport man gets 2 life sentences for murdering his mother and her friend
Pennsylvania state law required an Allegheny County judge Wednesday to sentence a McKeesport man to life in prison without parole in the 2024 killing of his mother and her friend. Prosecutors and pair of mourning families, however, asked Common Pleas Judge Jennifer Satler to do more — and acknowledge “the...
McCandless couple charged in ‘elaborate’ food-stamp fraud
Pennsylvania’s attorney general has charged a McCandless couple with running an “elaborate scheme” to illegally buy food stamps at a cut rate, use them to purchase nearly $180,000 in food from area stores, then resell the items at their Pittsburgh deli and restaurant. Rachna Anwar, 46, and her husband, Munir...
Stretch of I-79 in Washington County reopens after rockslide
Interstate 79 in Washington County is open to traffic again following a Wednesday morning rockslide that shut down its northbound lanes. Crews reopened the lanes around 8:35 a.m. after removing rock debris that had fallen on the roadway, said Melissa Maczko, a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokeswoman. Southbound traffic was...
Morning Roundup: Man pinned by equipment in Strip District; police seek Uniontown shooter
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Jan. 7: ______________________________ Man pinned by equipment in Strip District A man was hospitalized in stable condition Tuesday after “a piece of industrial equipment” pinned him to a building in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. Pittsburgh police, firefighters and EMS...
Why did a helicopter land in Point State Park?
A helicopter hovered above — and landed in — Point State Park Tuesday morning in Downtown Pittsburgh as part of Pennsylvania State Police preparations for the 2026 NFL Draft coming to the city this spring. The state police helicopter touched down just before 9 a.m. for about eight minutes, according...
Police: Pittsburgh man hit cruiser, drove into oncoming traffic at 90 mph during wild pursuit
Police have arrested a Pittsburgh man they say drove a stolen car into oncoming traffic on Route 30 “with speed upwards of 90 mph” during an early morning police chase last weekend that ended in a wrecked cruiser, a discarded gun and the suspect’s arrest. The suspect said he should...
Turtle Creek man charged with attempted homicide after teen shot at close range in Duquesne
Police early Tuesday arrested a Turtle Creek man they say was one of two gunman who fired dozens of shots a day earlier at a 15-year-old boy in Duquesne, grazing his elbow. Jamar Saunders, 21, fired at the victim around 2:30 p.m. near a grassy lot at on Auriles Street,...
Snow out, rain in, as thaw displaces deep freeze in Pittsburgh area
Goodbye, snow. Temperatures in Pittsburgh this week could reach 60 degrees and lead to snowmelt in a winter warm-up set to end a six-day run of frigid weather, according to the National Weather Service in Moon. The mercury started rising Monday morning in Pittsburgh and is expected to plateau in...
Steelers vs. Ravens: What they’re saying in Baltimore after loss
There were plenty of key plays when the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens 26-24 in a winner-take-all Week 18 game at Acrisure Stadium. But, holy water aside, sports writers in Baltimore — and angry Ravens fans on Instagram — zeroed in Sunday and early Monday mostly on Ravens kicker...
The new Hail Mary? Fans credit holy water blessing for Steelers’ division-clinching win
A priest might have helped save the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season after blessing an Acrisure Stadium end zone with holy water before Sunday night’s winner-take-all battle against the Baltimore Ravens. At least that’s what Monday morning quarterbacks are arguing on social media. TV cameras caught the Rev. Maximilian Maxwell of Saint...
A less-deadly year: In 2025, Pittsburgh notched fewest killings in decades, mirroring national trend
The gunfire didn’t stop in 2025, but it quieted, more than it has in years. Pittsburgh recorded 35 homicides last year, the fewest since at least the turn of the century, part of a broader regional and national downturn in violent crime. From New York City and Los Angeles to...
Pittsburgh police arrest woman for hitting puppy, sealing it in suitcase
Pittsburgh police arrested a “heavily intoxicated” woman on the North Side for stuffing a puppy into a suitcase and zipping the bag closed. Jayme White, 56, remained Monday in the Allegheny County Jail on $1,000 bail, court records show. Her home address was not listed in court records. Pittsburgh police...
Man charged with attempted homicide after Homestead shooting
An argument that started Friday morning in a Homestead store ended with one man being shot in the leg and the other being taken to jail. Homestead police were dispatched shortly before 11 a.m. to the 100 block of East 8th Avenue after several 911 callers reported that a man...
