Kiski Township woman accused of shooting man she thought stole pistol from her SUV

Kiski Township police accused a woman of kicking a man out of her vehicle and shooting him because she thought he stole one of her handguns.

Patricia Marie Kettering-Pierce, 55, of Clarks Hollow Road, Kiski Township was charged with two counts of felony aggravated assault, which includes a count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. She also faces six misdemeanor charges that include reckless endangerment, simple assault and drug possession.

She is being detained in the Armstrong County Jail after failing to post a $75,000 bond. She faces a preliminary hearing on the charges before District Judge James Andring on Jan. 12, according to court records.

Police say they responded to a call at the intersection of Edmond and School roads at around 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 1 for a report of a man who had been shot.

The man, whose name was not released, told officers he was spending New Year’s Eve at Kettering-Pierce’s house because he is friends with her son, according to the criminal complaint on the incident.

He said he did not know the name of the woman later identified as Kettering-Pierce, but that she drove him and his friend to the Rite Aid pharmacy in Apollo to pick up a prescription, according to the complaint.

After the pharmacy visit, the man said, he passed out while sitting in the passenger seat of her SUV, but woke up when Kettering-Pierce confronted him about a missing firearm, the complaint said.

He told police she then pulled over along a dirt road and forced him out of the vehicle, police said.

When he got out of her SUV, she pulled out a small-caliber handgun and shot him before driving off, the complaint said.

The man told police he didn’t know where he was, so he walked until he found a house and asked the occupants to call for help, according to the complaint.

Police and medics responded to the area of Edmond and School roads and the man was transported by medics to ACMH Hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound to the hand, the complaint said.

After being treated, the man was interviewed by police, who said he was in possession of a bottle of prescription pills belonging to Kettering-Pierce that was filled by Rite Aid on Jan. 1, the complaint said.

Investigators used the bottle to identify Kettering-Pierce and arrest her, police said.

When police went to Kettering-Pierce’s home, they found a 2012 Jeep Cherokee that matched the description of the vehicle the man provided, according to the complaint.

An officer who spoke with Kettering-Pierce and her son at the home’s front door said a shotgun was visible inside and asked the pair to show their hands. He said they refused to comply and Kettering-Pierce was pulled outside and taken into custody as she tried to retreat into the house, the complaint said.

Police said the woman’s son also tried to run back into the house and refused orders to stop. He was also taken into custody.

A loaded .357-caliber semiautomatic pistol was found on a table next to a pile of loose marijuana in the living room when police went inside, the complaint said.

The Allegheny County Bomb Squad was dispatched to the house after an officer found a World War II-era hand grenade in one of the rooms. The bomb squad determined that the grenade was not live, police said.

While going room to room to ensure the house was empty, police said, officers saw numerous firearms, including one that fit the description of the gun used in the shooting.

After obtaining a search warrant for the house, police confiscated the .357-caliber handgun along with 16 rifles, a

flintlock gun, eight shotguns, a .22-caliber Beretta handgun, a .32-caliber pistol and a .380-caliber Taurus handgun, the complaint said.

Police said the Beretta had a strong odor of gunpowder “as if it was recently fired.”

Investigators also confiscated marijuana from the house, a pan containing suspected crystal methamphetamine and a prescription bottle containing a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, police said.

Kettering’s vehicle also was impounded.

Investigators said Kettering-Pierce’s son provided them with the same account of what happened as the man who was shot.

Police said Kettering-Pierce also agreed to speak with them and admitted to shooting the man because she believed he stole one of the two handguns she kept in her vehicle.

She told them that she fired at him after he tossed the missing handgun back into the vehicle, police said.