Police arrest Braddock man accused of fatal Arnold shooting last month

A 32-year-old Braddock man accused of fatally shooting a man in an Arnold alley June 28 was arrested Monday night following a search involving police, bloodhounds and a helicopter.

Police charged Allen Duwayne Herring with killing Gregory Ray Wynkoop, 35, of East Franklin during a robbery.

Westmoreland County District Attorney John W. Peck took the unusual step of having arrest papers and other records in the case sealed until Herring’s preliminary hearing.

Herring was in the county jail wearing an orange uniform and standing next to a guard when District Judge Frank Pallone Jr. formally charged Herring during an online arraignment Tuesday afternoon.

Pallone denied Herring bond while he awaits his preliminary hearing.

During the arraignment, Pallone held up a sealed envelope and told Herring the envelope held the affidavit accusing him of homicide.

Herring told Pallone he would seek a public defender, “for now.”

Although homicide was the only charge mentioned, earlier in the day Peck said Herring also faces charges of robbery, conspiracy and firearms violations.

Herring’s preliminary hearing on the charges is scheduled for July 19.

Scant details Tuesday

According to a statement from Peck on Tuesday, Herring was arrested Monday night in a wooded area between New Kensington and Lower Burrell. A search for him involved county detectives, sheriff’s deputies, a state police helicopter and the Greensburg bloodhound team.

Peck wouldn’t elaborate about how authorities started to search for Herring. He would only say Herring was “apprehended.”

Peck said he requested and obtained a court order to seal the case paperwork “to protect the integrity of the investigation.”

He declined to explain what that means until after Herring’s preliminary hearing is held.

Westmoreland County Judge Rita Hathaway confirmed she ordered the records sealed at the request of prosecutors and referred all questions to Peck. Peck told the Tribune-Review that Herring and his attorney will be given the affidavit at the preliminary hearing.

Herring has been living recently in the Arnold and New Kensington area and previously in North Braddock, according to Peck.

Police said Wynkoop was shot once around 6:30 p.m. in Kenva Alley between North and McCandless streets. He died 45 minutes later.

Peck would not say whether police believe there is a connection between Wynkoop’s killing and the May 23 killing of Gregory L. Smith, a 69-year-old newspaper carrier, or five other recent shootings in the Arnold and New Kensington area. Most recently, a man was wounded in a shooting about 8:30 p.m. Monday on New Kensington’s Ivy Alley.

New Kensington police Chief Robert Deringer said that shooting victim wasn’t cooperating with investigators. No other details were available.