Judge says Scottdale man's role in 2023 shootout was 'major stupidity'

A Scottdale man was ordered to serve seven years of probation for his role in a 2023 shootout with a juvenile in a dispute that arose out of an alleged deal for drug-laced candy.

Joseph A. Greep Jr., 21, pleaded guilty in April to lesser charges after prosecutors agreed to dismiss charges of aggravated assault and discharging a firearm into an occupied structure. Greep pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen gun, reckless endangerment and receiving stolen property.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears called Greep’s actions “major stupidity.”

Greep fired three rounds into the Mt. Pleasant home of a 17-year-old with whom he had an ongoing dispute, police say. The juvenile told police he was duped into purchasing a candy bar for $100 that he believed had been laced with hallucinogenic drugs.

The dispute led to arguments in school and later on social media before the teen and Greep claimed they were sent photographs of guns, prompting them each to respond with actual weapons, police said. Investigators said the gun Greep used was stolen. The juvenile fired one shot from a rifle owned by his grandfather, according to authorities.

No one was injured in the shooting.

The judge ordered Greep to serve the first 18 months of his probation on house arrest and declined to give him credit for the more than a year he has been linked to an electronic monitoring device while on pretrial release.

“I think this case deserves some leniency and the defendant’s youth was taken into account, as was the last year that he has gotten on track,” Mears said

Greep also pleaded guilty in a separate case that stemmed from a 2024 arrest for fleeing from police and driving a dirt bike with a suspended license. He was sentenced to a concurrent probation term.

The teen, whose identity was never released, was prosecuted in juvenile court for his role in the shooting and was ordered to serve a six-month probation sentence, defense attorney Brian Aston said.