Justin Vellucci stories, Page 6
New details emerge about Maryland investigation of Jason Lando, O’Connor’s pick for Pittsburgh police chief
Jason Lando, the police veteran tapped to become Pittsburgh’s next chief, was linked by criminal investigators to an account that sent expletive-laced text messages from anonymous “burner” numbers earlier this year, according to a law enforcement report obtained by TribLive. Lando, a Squirrel Hill native who served as a Pittsburgh...
Some defendants in Plum fatal explosion case ask judge to dismiss negligence claims
Several defendants being sued over a 2023 fatal house explosion in Plum asked a judge Friday to dismiss negligence counts against them during a two-hour hearing heavy on legal citations. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Philip A. Ignelzi did not rule from the bench. The families of six people killed...
Man who shot Parkway West driver in the face pleads guilty, gets prison
The man who repeatedly shot at a fellow motorist last year while the two drove on the Parkway West — leading the victim to lose his left eye — is headed to prison for 4 to 8 years, according to a plea agreement. Rashawn Hall, 23, of McKeesport agreed to...
Pittsburgh man dies days after being shot in East Liberty
A man shot last week in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood died late Monday. Bryon Lewis, 36, of Pittsburgh was shot in the chest around 1 a.m. Friday outside a home in the 400 block of Omega Court, according to authorities. First responders took Lewis to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in critical...
Developers to break ground on $740M Esplanade project on Pittsburgh’s North Side
Developers plan to break ground next week on a $740 million project that aims to turn a North Side brownfield into a bustling entertainment district. Officials said they plan to put the ceremonial shovel in the ground on the Esplanade development at 1 p.m. Monday at a vacant parking lot...
Allegheny County rules infant’s death by drugs a homicide
Police are investigating how a toxic mix of antidepressants and a pill used to treat high blood pressure killed a nine-month-old infant this spring, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Friday. Lena Bedri died early on April 27 at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh due to the combination of...
Pittsburgh police officer on leave after assault charge in connection with domestic dispute
A Pittsburgh police officer was placed on administrative leave after he allegedly pushed his wife during a late-night domestic dispute over the weekend outside his Dormont home, authorities said Wednesday. But Officer Adam Thomas Germeyer’s attorney maintains her client is innocent — and stressed that women at the scene that...
Ex-Leet fire chief, wife charged in misconduct case involving junior firefighter
A former Leet Township fire chief and his wife were arrested Nov. 24 after investigators said she exposed herself to a teenage fire department volunteer and told him she was eager to have sex with him once he turned 18, according to Allegheny County Police. Nathan Turner, 40, texted his...
‘We are prepared’: Pittsburgh airport braces for spike in Thanksgiving travel
As Pittsburgh International Airport officials Monday prepared for an onslaught of passengers during the frenetic holiday travel season, Josh Buchholz geared up to fly to Arizona for Thanksgiving. The Grove City man and his wife, Erin Bonner, were among the first wave of 300,000 travelers predicted to set foot in...
How Pennsylvania broke through 135 days of budget gridlock
Forty-four states approved their budgets on time this year. Not Pennsylvania. When Gov. Josh Shapiro finally signed the commonwealth’s $50.1 billion spending plan Nov. 12 — 135 days late, dead last in the nation — it marked the end of a high-stakes negotiating marathon. Playing key roles in the final...
Police charge Aliquippa couple with kidnapping woman who jumped from car in Pittsburgh
A Beaver County woman escaped a kidnapping earlier this week by jumping out of a car stopped at a red light in Pittsburgh, police said. The couple accused of abducting her has been arrested and jailed. Tyrone Turner, 41, and his girlfriend, Ariel Harper, 34, both of Aliquippa, drove a...
Lawyer for Cheswick man stabbed 37 times in jail says settlement reached with Allegheny County
A man stabbed 37 times last year while incarcerated at the Allegheny County Jail has settled a civil rights lawsuit against the county and two corrections officers who he said let his attackers into his cell, the man’s attorney told TribLive Wednesday. Shawn Daniels, 43, of Cheswick sued the county...
SWAT, U.S. Marshals arrest South Side homicide suspect
A SWAT team and U.S. marshals on Tuesday arrested a Penn Hills man who had been on the lam in connection with a fatal shooting last month in Pittsburgh’s South Side entertainment district. Video footage showed Moniem Strothers, 26, shoot Steven Robertson, 33, once in the neck in the 1200...
Authorities name Hill District homicide victim, search for suspect
Authorities Monday identified the man fatally shot over the weekend in Pittsburgh as a 35-year-old McKees Rocks resident. Pittsburgh police said they found Philip T. Griffin laying in the street Sunday night in the city’s Hill District neighborhood, near the Bedford Dwellings development. He had been shot multiple times. Officers...
Victim identified in fatal Brighton Heights blaze
Authorities Thursday identified the victim of a weekend house fire on Pittsburgh’s North Side as Mark A. Jeselnick, 64. Firefighters were dispatched around 5 a.m. Saturday to a home in the 300 block of Parviss Street in the city’s Brighton Heights neighborhood. When they arrived, they found the home engulfed...
Black hat found at crime scene leads to arrest in McKeesport slaying
DNA from a black hat found last year near a shooting scene in McKeesport led to an arrest Wednesday in the slaying of a man in his car. Allegheny County Police charged Daemond Artemus, 18, of McKeesport in the May 2, 2024, slaying of Brandon Dean. Artemus was taken to...
‘Rain of gunshots’: Trial begins in slaying of Pittsburgh woman, daughter, 4
A trial began Wednesday for two men charged with killing an East Hills woman and her 4-year-old daughter outside a Pittsburgh convenience store in what a prosecutor called a “rain of gunshots.” Tarrell Jennings, 21, of Wilmerding and Marquise St. Julien-Givner, 23, of Wilkinsburg face homicide and other charges in...
Fayette County borough mayor, 82, charged with DUI in hit-and-run
The 82-year-old mayor of a small Fayette County town had a blood-alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit on Election Night when he crashed his car into a woman driving her sons to a sporting event, then fled the scene, Pennsylvania State Police said. Perryopolis Mayor Charles Petrosky, locally known...
‘College GameDay’ sets stage in Pittsburgh as Panthers prepare to face the Fighting Irish
It’s official: ESPN’s “College GameDay” has arrived in the Steel City. Crew members from one of the sports network’s marquee shows flew into Pittsburgh Monday to lay the groundwork for this weekend’s televised football matchup between Pitt and Notre Dame, ESPN spokeswoman Amanda Brooks told TribLive. The crew quickly started...
Fender-bender leaves vehicle hanging out of UPMC parking garage
A fender-bender in a Pittsburgh parking garage Tuesday pushed one car through a concrete barrier, leaving the vehicle hanging over the sidewalk several stories below. A driver rear-ended a parked vehicle in a UPMC parking garage on Aiken Avenue in the city’s Shadyside neighborhood, a UPMC spokesperson told TribLive. That...
VFW post hosts Veterans Day ceremony after chilly parade in Lower Burrell
Snow flurried and the temperature lingered around the freezing mark at 11 a.m. Tuesday but that didn’t stop veterans, first responders, local residents and students from marching down Leechburg Road in Lower Burrell’s annual Veterans Day Parade. A brief Veterans Day ceremony, complete with rifle salute from a seven-man honor...
Inmate identified who died at Allegheny County Jail during ‘medical emergency’
An incarcerated person who died Monday at the Allegheny County Jail has been identified. Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office report released Wednesday evening lists the deceased as Nathan Piernik, 38, of Glenshaw. The cause and manner of his death was not listed. He died after housing-unit staff called a medical...
Arbitrators wield nearly unchecked power to return disgraced police to duty
Keith Edmonds zapped an unarmed homeless man so many times with his Pittsburgh police-issued Taser that the city paid an $8 million court settlement after the man died. Aaron Fetty, another Pittsburgh police officer, was accused of sexually assaulting a co-worker while off duty. Philadelphia police Lt. Marc Hayes texted...
Police capture McKees Rocks fugitive accused of punching pregnant ex-girlfriend in stomach
Authorities Friday arrested a McKees Rocks fugitive charged with holding his ex-girlfriend captive for two days this summer — all while repeatedly punching her in the stomach after he learned another man had impregnated her, investigators said. Detectives took Justin Daugherty, 24, into custody at a Stowe residence on two...
Grieving for Little Q: Son of ‘The Mole’ contestant killed in Wilkinsburg
Quaylyn “Q” Carter grew up amid poverty and crime in North Braddock, the youngest son of a hard-working single mother. He graduated from Woodland Hills High School, then earned a criminal justice degree at Seton Hill University. After working for a sheriff in North Carolina, he returned to Pittsburgh, helped...
