Teen charged in Export shooting will be released from jail

A teenager charged with four adults in connection with a shooting last weekend in Export will be released from jail to await trial.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger set a $50,000 bond on Thursday for 16-year-old Connor J. Yakoweloff of New Alexandria and ordered that he remain on house arrest.

Yakoweloff was charged with two counts of aggravated assault and a firearms offense in connection with the Aug. 25 shooting in which a 27-year-old Monroeville man was wounded after a car chase that ended in Export.

Police said Sandra Lee Cline, 49; her daughter, Kayla M. Grant, 27; and Tyler V. Palandro, 18, all of Murrysville; Reese A. Bronick, 34, of Export; and Yakoweloff believed the unnamed victim had stolen items from one in the group. They confronted the man as they attempted to get into a parked vehicle.

According to court records, the group pursued and surrounded their target when Palandro pulled out a handgun and fired multiple times. Police said Yakoweloff provided the gun used by Palandro.

Defense attorney Tim Andrews said Thursday that Yakoweloff’s family would post the teen’s bond. He is expected to be released in a few days from the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh, where he is being held in a special unit for juveniles charged as adults.

After their arrest, Bronick and Grant were released on $100,000 unsecured bonds. Cline and Palandro were denied bail and remain in jail.

Andrews said he will seek to have Yakoweloff’s case transferred to juvenile court.

Yakoweloff and the other four suspects are scheduled to appear Sept. 3 for a preliminary hearing before Export District Judge Charles R. Conway.

Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck said the victim was treated and released from a Pittsburgh hospital and is expected to testify at Tuesday’s hearing.