Justin Vellucci stories, Page 39
Attempted homicide charges dropped in BB gun shooting case in Pittsburgh
A Pittsburgh district judge on Wednesday dropped attempted homicide charges against four city teens accused of shooting an unconscious man with a BB gun multiple times as he was lying in a Downtown alley in late November. The man, identified as Christopher Gaylor, 50, of Cadiz, Ohio, later died of...
Trump, Brockovich to visit East Palestine as Pa. officials plan derailment hearing in Beaver County
Former President Donald Trump and environmental activist Erin Brockovich plan to visit East Palestine, Ohio, this week as the community continues looking for answers after a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed Feb. 3 and released toxic chemicals. Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social, that he...
Swissvale homicide victim ‘wanted to give Lyla the best,’ friend says
Tyleda Worou pulled the car over on the Parkway East when she got the call about her friends. Megan Campbell and her 7-year-old daughter, Lyla, had been shot dead in Swissvale. “‘Megan and Lyla are dead,’” Campbell’s brother told Worou, an entrepreneur who lives in Penn Hills. “I couldn’t believe...
North Allegheny assistant football coach charged in club basketball game fight
An assistant North Allegheny Senior High School football coach, is accused of strangling a basketball coach and striking a spectator during a fight that broke out last week at a kids’ club basketball game in Washington County. Scott McMullen, 46, of Coraopolis, was charged Feb. 16 with simple assault, harassment,...
Pa. hits Beaver County’s Shell cracker plant with another emissions violation notice
The state Department of Environmental Protection has slapped Beaver County’s Shell ethylene cracker plant with a third violation notice because the agency said Shell again surpassed pollution emission limits. The sprawling, multibillion-dollar plant along the Ohio River opened in November. In an email to Shell dated Monday, DEP officials said...
Cyclist critically injured in Strip District crash
A female bicyclist was injured Thursday morning after being hit by a vehicle in the Strip District. Pittsburgh police said they responded to 16th Street around 9 a.m. The cyclist, who police did not identify, was taken to an area hospital in critical condition, police said. Sixteenth Street between Penn...
Police: Pittsburgh man robs East Liberty dollar store, flees in stolen van
A Pittsburgh man is accused of assaulting a Dollar Tree clerk, stealing $72 in cash from a store register and then driving off in a stolen van. Kwon Lester, 43, was charged Tuesday with robbery, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, resisting arrest, fleeing or attempting to elude police...
14-year-old on probation accused of fatally shooting Carrick teen
A 14-year-old boy, who the police say shed his GPS ankle monitor after shooting and killing another teen in Carrick earlier this week, turned himself in on Wednesday. Nigel Thompson, 14, of Carrick, who Pittsburgh police is charged with criminal homicide and three weapons counts. He was in the Allegheny...
Procession for slain McKeesport officer to close roads in South Hills, Mon Valley
A procession for slain McKeesport police Officer Sean Sluganski will close several roads as it winds from the South Hills and the Mon Valley on Tuesday. The procession will start at the funeral in Baldwin borough, travel through McKeesport, and finish at a cemetery in Pleasant Hills, Allegheny County spokesperson...
Police: Cranberry woman says she shot boyfriend in self-defense
A Butler County woman claims she shot and killed her boyfriend over the weekend in self-defense, police said. Amanda Hughes, 26, of Cranberry, was charged Sunday with one count of criminal homicide, Cranberry police Lt. Chuck Mascellino told the Tribune-Review. Hughes was arraigned and now is being held in the...
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...
