Trial begins in Stowe homicide
Richard and Tianias Johnson were supposed to be picking up some pans to use for Thanksgiving dinner. Her son, Michael Dean, was expecting them. But when the Johnsons arrived at Dean’s house in the 800 block of Benwood Avenue in Stowe on Nov. 22, 2023, he didn’t answer the door....
Robinson man found guilty of defrauding government in defense contracts
A Robinson man accused by the federal government of making a $500,000 profit by substituting lower-quality parts to fulfill military contracts was found guilty on Tuesday of wire fraud and failure to pay taxes. Donald Smith, 75, could face federal prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge J....
Pittsburgh parents sue pool drain maker after suction severely injures daughter, 3, at Mexican resort
The parents of a 3-year-old Pittsburgh girl who nearly died after she became trapped by suction from a wading pool drain at a resort in Mexico last year are suing the drain’s manufacturer. Adam Quatrini and Carolina Maria Vélez, of Shadyside, filed the lawsuit on Monday in federal court in...
Woman pleads guilty to fatal stabbing with pocketknife in Homewood
A Homewood woman will serve four to 10 years in state prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to voluntary manslaughter for fatally stabbing a woman she knew following an hours-long argument. Maurissa Plummer, 22, did not make any statement on her behalf during a brief plea hearing before Allegheny County Common...
How a single word caused a Pittsburgh homicide mistrial
The witness’s testimony was supposed to be simple. Pittsburgh police Officer Andrew Dice was expected to describe for jurors an interaction he’d heard at the Allegheny County Jail when dropping off a homicide suspect. Ambrose Sample Jr., charged with fatally shooting his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend during a child custody exchange on...
What happened to Daphy? Haitian woman’s death prompts Pittsburgh immigration lawyer to question ICE procedures
An immigration attorney is raising questions about a Haitian woman’s death in Pittsburgh this month days after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took her into custody and then released her with an electronic ankle monitor. Daphy Michel, 31, of Charleroi was found unresponsive at a bus shelter on March 2...
Pittsburgh cop sues city, ex-chief Scirotto, claiming reverse discrimination
A white Pittsburgh police sergeant is suing the city and his former chief, Larry Scirotto, alleging he was discriminated against by being removed from a motorcycle unit. The lawsuit, filed by Brian Elledge in federal court on Wednesday, includes claims for race discrimination and retaliation. He is seeking money damages....
Homestead police sued for K-9 bite, malicious prosecution in arrest outside bar
A McKeesport man is suing Homestead police after he said he was attacked by their police dog outside Eon Bar & Grill last year and then targeted with a trumped-up arrest. Bryant Maurice Boyd Jr. filed the lawsuit in federal court on Feb. 28. In addition to the police department,...
Jury finds Homewood man who shot identical twins guilty of 1st-degree murder
A Homewood man will serve the rest of his life in prison after a jury on Wednesday found him guilty of first-degree murder. Preslin Turner,37, will be sentenced by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Simquita Bridges within 90 days. The penalty for first-degree murder in Pennsylvania is mandatory life in...
Mention of prior murder conviction in Westmoreland County leads to mistrial in Pittsburgh homicide case
An Allegheny County Common Pleas judge granted a mistrial Wednesday in the case of a man accused of killing his girlfriend’s ex during a custody exchange in Pittsburgh three years ago. Ambrose Sample Jr., 45, is charged with killing Corey Washington in the Family Dollar parking lot on Brighton Road...
Self-defense or execution?: Jury to begin deliberations in Homewood homicide
Preslin Turner’s lawyer called his client’s actions a textbook case of self-defense. “This is what self-defense looks like in the real world,” Aaron Sontz told a jury Tuesday. “It’s not scripted. It’s not pretty. Usually, it’s a tragedy for everyone involved.” But for prosecutors, what Turner did the night of...
Trial begins for man accused of killing girlfriend’s ex during North Side custody exchange
Video played for the jury on Monday showed the shooting on Pittsburgh’s North Side. It showed Corey Washington and Tanisha Turner arriving separately to exchange custody of their 4-year-old son. It showed the two arguing. And it showed Turner’s boyfriend, prosecutors said, fire at least three shots, killing Washington in...
‘I was in survival mode’: Defendant takes stand in Homewood homicide trial
Preslin Turner told the jury he thought he might die. As he was being choked on his hallway floor on the night of March 7, 2025, Turner said he couldn’t breathe and started to lose consciousness. He had gotten into an argument with the 27-year-old identical twin sons of the...
Jail employee under investigation for taking gun into facility
Police and jail administrators are investigating how a newly hired corrections officer at the Allegheny County Jail allegedly got through security last month with a gun and why it was not reported to supervisors. Bethany Hallam, a longtime Jail Oversight Board member, said the employee — who graduated from the...
Owner of African market in East Pittsburgh pleads guilty to food stamp fraud
A Pittsburgh woman must pay nearly $55,000 in restitution following her conviction for food stamp fraud at her African food market in East Pittsburgh. Bolaji Michael, 46, pleaded guilty in October to one count of food stamp fraud. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Marilyn J. Horan ordered her to serve...
Man pleads guilty to 2 bank robberies in Pittsburgh
A Shadyside man who turned himself in both times he robbed Pittsburgh banks pleaded guilty on Thursday in federal court. Aaron Roth, 36, will be sentenced to nine years in prison as part of a plea agreement. Sentencing on charges of armed bank robbery, brandishing a firearm and possessing a...
Did self-defense or bruised ego lead to fatal shooting in Homewood?
The lawyer for a Homewood man on trial for shooting identical twins living in the same house as him told a jury Wednesday that his client acted in self-defense. Preslin Turner, 37, is charged with killing Therreus Lindsey, 27, and wounding Darius Lindsey last year following a fistfight among the...
50 days in solitary leads to $37K verdict for convicted murderer in Pa.
A convicted murderer serving a life sentence at the state prison in Greene County won a $37,500 jury verdict this week over allegations he was improperly held in solitary confinement for 50 days. In 2018, Maurice D. Able filed a federal lawsuit on his own behalf against the Pennsylvania Department...
Judge denies bail for McDonald man accused of shooting at police
An Allegheny County judge on Tuesday denied bail for a McDonald man accused of firing repeatedly at police officers last year during a suspected mental health crisis. Stephen Budai, 45, of McDonald is charged with four counts each of firing on a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment...
Ex-Allegheny County health inspector, a Sikh man, claims he was forced to shave beard, files lawsuit
A Sikh man and former inspector with the Allegheny County Health Department is suing the agency in federal court alleging discrimination because of his beard, which he claims he was once forced to shave while at work. Navin Kohli, who served as an environmental health specialist, on Tuesday filed the...
West Newton man pleads guilty to accessing intimate images on hundreds of victims through their Snapchat accounts
A West Newton man pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to hacking into hundreds of individual Snapchat accounts, accessing intimate videos and images stored there and then trading them online. Michael Yackovich, 30, will be sentenced on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft by Chief...
Judge calls Pittsburgh crash death ‘textbook example’ of why DUI is illegal
No one showed up in court for either side. Not for the victim, a 33-year-old immigrant killed in Pittsburgh last year by a drunken driver. And not for the defendant, a 22-year-old woman who created a good life for herself and her twin sons despite a string of difficult life...
Lawsuit accuses Pittsburgh police of using Taser on autistic man without cause
A Pittsburgh man who is on the autism spectrum is suing city police, alleging they shocked him with a Taser and arrested him without cause two years ago. Kevin Matthew Dunn, 24, of Pittsburgh’s Westwood neighborhood said in the complaint filed last month in federal court that no criminal charges...
Federal judge shuts door on Justice Department effort to wrest transgender care data from UPMC
A federal judge in Pittsburgh on Monday denied a request by the U.S. Department of Justice to force UPMC to turn over anonymized records for minor patients who received gender-affirming care and sharply criticized the government for its stance on transgender Americans. “Its rhetoric regarding gender-affirming care reflects callous indifference,...
Driver in Pittsburgh fatal crash tries to throw out blood alcohol test results
A former Pittsburgh paramedic whose blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit when she struck and killed a woman on East Carson Street two years ago is trying to have her blood test thrown out. Sydney Richardson, 35, of Lincoln Place is charged with homicide by...
