Police have charged a Pittsburgh teen as an adult in connection with an alleged kidnapping and home invasion last month in the city’s Sheraden neighborhood, court records show.
Ayah Stamps, 17, allegedly burst into a home on Merwyn Avenue around 11 p.m. Jan. 17 with another man, according to the criminal complaint.
A resident identified only as Victim 1 told police that one of the men — later identified as Stamps — pointed a silver revolver at him and told him, “You know what this is.”
The first victim told police that Stamps kept demanding money and, at one point, put the revolver into Victim 1’s mouth, according to the complaint. The victim called upstairs to his friend who had been playing guitar and remained unaware of the home invasion, police said.
The suspects continued to demand money, Victim 1 said. He told police he offered to take the men to an ATM to appease their demands, according to the complaint. He told police that Stamps and the other man forced them outside into the snow with no shoes on.
Victim 2 drove the four to an ATM near the intersection of Chartiers Avenue and Hillsboro Street, police wrote. Stamps told the second victim to go to the ATM but not to run, because he would shoot the first victim. Victim 2 took out $80, and Stamps allegedly demanded he drive up the street, at which point the suspects took off.
2nd robbery leads police to suspect
Police said the robbery of a pizza delivery driver a few days later led them to Stamps, whose phone number was used to set up the robbery of the driver, according to the complaint.
Detectives found that Victim 1 had been texting with Stamps dozens of times leading up to the home invasion.
Confronted with this information, Victim 1 admitted that he’d met Stamps the day before the invasion when Stamps approached him on the street and offered to sell him drugs, according to the complaint. The victim declined but gave Stamps his number and told him to call the next day.
He told police he was waiting for Stamps to come sell him drugs when Stamps and the other man barged into the home, according to the complaint.
The victim told officers he hadn’t disclosed that information at first because he didn’t want to admit to buy drugs, as he was on probation.
Stamps faces 15 charges, including kidnapping, burglary, three counts of robbery, and two counts each of making threats, unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment, theft and two firearms violations.
