New Kensington man returned from Florida to face charge that he killed Brackenridge man

The New Kensington man accused of fatally shooting a Brackenridge man in an Arnold kitchen in January was returned Wednesday night after being extradited from Florida.

Mario Matthew Gatti, 30, was arraigned before Allegheny Township District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec for allegedly shooting Michael Coover Jr., 33, of Brackenridge on Jan. 16.

Wearing the same bathing suit he wore the day he was arrested on a beach in Jacksonville, Fla., in April, Gatti calmly listened to Yakopec over the phone tell him he was being charged with criminal homicide, burglary, reckless endangerment, terroristic threats and a firearms violation.

After Yakopec gave him instructions for seeking a public defender, he said “all-righty.”

Sheriff’s deputies took Gatti to the Westmoreland County Prison, where he will be held without bail, pending a preliminary hearing before New Kensington District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr.

Gatti was flown Wednesday evening to Pittsburgh International Airport from Jacksonville, Fla., where he had been held in a county jail awaiting extradition since his arrest April 19. He was accompanied by Chief Deputy Sheriff Roger Eckels and Sgt. Irvin Shipley.

Gatti is accused of shooting Coover at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 16 as the victim sat in the kitchen of an apartment at 200 17th St. in Arnold.

According to the affidavit Arnold police filed against him, Gatti came in through an unlocked door, brandishing a gun as he asked two women who knew him, “where is he?”

Gatti pushed aside someone attempting to stop him, allegedly fired the shots at Coover, then threatened the women and a baby, telling them he would be back if they “tell anybody it was me.”

Suspect tracked to Florida

Westmoreland County Deputy Sheriff Irvin Shipley said they had been tracking Gatti for about three weeks before his arrest and were there when Gatti was apprehended. Sheriff Jim Albert said police had received a tip on where Gatti was located, and police were watching the hotel room where he was staying.

Gatti was arrested around 8:20 a.m. when police in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., spotted him sitting on a beach near some sand dunes. Officers were patrolling the area to make sure people were following the restrictive rules put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Jacksonville Beach police said when they confronted Gatti, they recognized him as being wanted in Pennsylvania, according to Sgt. Tonya Tator, police department spokeswoman.

Gatti was arrested without incident on a fugitive from justice charge and booked into the Duval County Jail, Tator said.

Gatti allegedly attempted to give police a fake name and possessed drugs that required a prescription, for which he was charged, Tator said.