Gunman in Brackenridge police chief slaying had extensive criminal history

The Duquesne man who police said killed Brackenridge’s police chief Monday had been charged with homicide nearly a decade ago.

Aaron Swan, 28, was shot and killed Monday night after a shootout with police in Pittsburgh’s Homewood-Brushton neighborhood. Police said Swan had shot Brackenridge Chief Justin McIntire earlier in the day.

Swan’s criminal record includes a homicide charge that had been filed in connection with the April 18, 2014, shooting death of a man in Homewood.

By the time that case got to its preliminary hearing, the homicide count against Swan had been withdrawn, and he faced only charges of robbery and criminal conspiracy.

The homicide count was withdrawn in exchange for Swan’s cooperation against his co-defendant, Justin Bonner, the District Attorney’s Office said at the time.

Swan pleaded guilty to robbery and conspiracy and was sentenced to three to six years in prison.

Court paperwork filed at the time said Pittsburgh police found Leonard Young dead with three gunshot wounds in his back inside a Chevy Malibu parked at Homewood’s Mt. Ararat Church. Police said Young’s shoes had been stolen, the pockets in his pants had been turned inside out and his belt was unbuckled.

Police said Young’s sister had told them he kept a key to his Jaguar attached to his belt by an elastic band.

Video surveillance from the church and a business next door showed two men walking around the area of the parking lot for several minutes, then crouching down and sneaking up to Young’s car, the criminal complaint said.

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After a short time, the video showed the vehicle’s headlights turned on, and it starting to reverse out of the parking spot. Then the two men could be seen standing next to the driver’s side.

Video shows what appears to be one of the men shooting at the car as it backed out of a parking spot. That man could be seen running up to the vehicle, and then both men ran away.

Police identified the suspects as Swan and Bonner.

Bonner told police he knew Young sold marijuana, and Swan wanted to rob someone to make money. Bonner said Swan stole several items from the car, including money, a cellphone, marijuana and Young’s tennis shoes. Bonner also claimed Swan fired the shots that killed Young.

The criminal complaint said another witness told police that Swan admitted he was at the scene that day but insisted he and Bonner had just planned to rob Young before “Bonner ended up shooting Young.”

Bonner pleaded guilty to third-degree murder on May 15, 2017, and was ordered to serve 20 to 40 years in prison.

Swan, who had been behind bars for 731 days before being sentenced, was released in the robbery case on May 25, 2018 — 10 days after completing his minimum prison term.

He was released to North Central Regional Jail in West Virginia and remained there until Oct. 9, 2018.

Swan had been charged in West Virginia’s Monongalia County with grand larceny because police said he stole $2,600 from a person in 2014. He failed to show for his arraignment in September of that year, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

After arriving at the West Virginia jail, Swan pleaded no contest to the single count on Sept. 27, 2018, and was ordered to serve three years of probation, perform 150 hours of community service and pay restitution.

On May 9, 2019, Pittsburgh police charged Swan with drug possession and intent to sell after he was spotted early that day driving a vehicle with a broken left brake light. He pleaded guilty Sept. 16, 2019, and was sentenced to a year of probation.

Also that month, corrections records show the Pennsylvania Parole Board ordered Swan to serve 18 months of back time.

A document announcing the board’s decision showed that Swan had shown “poor adjustment under supervision” and was not “amenable to parole supervision.” The board added, “You are considered a threat to the safety of the community.”

He was released from the State Correctional Institution at Mercer on June 4, 2021.

On Nov. 13, 2021, a night club worker on the South Side reported that his car had been broken into while he was working. The worker told police he saw two men crouched behind a car near his when he returned to his car following his shift, and one of the men was wearing a distinctive hoodie belonging to the worker.

Inside the car, the worker noticed immediately that a green, Glock .22-caliber handgun had been stolen from his car. The gun had a 20-round magazine and a mounted flashlight.

A criminal complaint filed in the case said other items stolen from the car included a revolver, a hunting rifle, a shotgun and a hunting bow. The weapons were valued at a combined $5,100.

The complaint said the worker chased after one of the suspects, later identified as Swan, and the two exchanged punches and fell to the ground.

“While fighting, Swan pulled out Kovach’s firearm, pointed it at him and stated, ‘Walk the (expletive) away,’” the complaint said.

Kovach put up his arms, and Swan ran away, the complaint said. Swan dropped his driver’s license at the scene during the fight, police said. Pittsburgh police got an arrest warrant for Swan.

A month later, Penn Hills police tried to arrest Swan at Colony Apartments when a man whose Apple Airpods had been stolen on Dec. 25, 2021, tracked them to that location.

The Airpods were tracked to a white Ford Fusion parked at the apartments. When a Penn Hills officer approached the running car, he found Swan inside either asleep or unconscious with a green Glock handgun on his lap.

When backup arrived, the officers banged on the car and ordered Swan to turn it off. A complaint said Swan tried to drive away, but he got stuck in grass and mud. He got out of the car and ran, escaping after a pursuing officer got stuck on a fence.

Officers found Swan’s driver’s license inside the vehicle, along with other stolen items.

Penn Hills police charged Swan with receiving stolen property, resisting arrest and fleeing.

Both the city charges and the Penn Hills case were listed as inactive in the court records database.

Swan also was convicted in another 2014 case.

A criminal complaint said Pittsburgh police were patrolling North St. Clair Street on Aug. 27, 2014, when they saw Swan walking on the road with a gun in his waistband. When an officer made eye contact, Swan immediately began running while holding the gun against his waist, police said.

Police ultimately tracked him to the rear of a house on Amber Street. As Swan tried to force his way through a shrub, the complaint said, he fell and fired one round from the pistol into the ground.

Police arrested Swan as he was breaking out a basement window into the Angelus Convalescent Center.

In that case, Swan pleaded guilty in March 2017 to criminal trespassing, escape, taunting police animals, firearms counts, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest and flight to avoid apprehension.

He was sentenced to three years of probation.