State trooper arrests Parks Township man carrying stolen gun while walking along Route 28
A Parks Township man was arrested by state police after he told them that he stole the gun he was carrying while walking along the Route 28 expressway in Harmar.
Michael Joseph Crocker, 22, of the 1300 block of Gravel Bar Road, was charged with felony counts of receiving stolen property and carrying a firearm without a license.
He was released from custody after posting a $25,000 unsecured bond, according to court records. A preliminary hearing before District Judge David Sosovicka is scheduled for May 16.
A trooper wrote in Crocker’s arrest papers that he was patrolling the highway in Harmar shortly after 8 p.m. last Thursday when he saw two men walking toward a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Crocker was acting nervous and tried to turn away from the trooper, the complaint said.
The trooper frisked Crocker and asked him what was in his right front pocket, according to the complaint.
Crocker responded by asking the trooper to remove the gun — a loaded .25-caliber Raven pistol — and told him he is not permitted to have a gun.
Crocker is on probation for a 2019 felony conviction, which makes him ineligible to possess a gun, according to police.
Police said Crocker told them that he stole the gun from a home in Parks Township on May 1.
Tony LaRussa is a TribLive reporter. A Pittsburgh native, he covers crime and courts in the Alle-Kiski Valley. He can be reached at tlarussa@triblive.com.
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