Former high-ranking cop in Allegheny County DA’s office faces trial on assault charge

A former assistant chief in the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office is headed to trial on charges he broke into the home of a colleague he previously dated and assaulted her.

Richard McDonald, 56, of Oakdale, waived his preliminary hearing Thursday on charges of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person, court records show.

Prosecutors withdrew three other charges — burglary, harassment and a second count of recklessly endangering another person.

McDonald, who was hired by the district attorney’s office in May 2018, initially was suspended with pay after being charged, a spokesperson with the office said.

He resigned from his post earlier this month, his attorney, Robert Del Greco Jr., previously confirmed.

Del Greco did not return phone calls Thursday seeking comment.

Around 1:15 p.m. on Nov. 12, Pittsburgh police were called to a house in the city’s Oakwood neighborhood in the West End for a burglary, according to a criminal complaint.

When officers arrived, the homeowner said McDonald, who she previously dated, had walked into her home that afternoon and assaulted her and a man.

She told police McDonald pushed the woman and punched the man in the mouth.

McDonald, a complaint complaint said, then dragged the woman down the steps by her hair.

Police said McDonald pulled a gun and pointed it at the man, who responded, “‘What, are you going to shoot me?’”

McDonald then left, according to police.

The woman told police McDonald may have had a key to the house from when they dated in 2018.

McDonald was a Pittsburgh police officer from 1989 through 2002 and then worked as a special agent with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office until 2006, according to court documents. He also served as Ellwood City’s public safety director.

The attorney general’s office is prosecuting the case.