A Wilkinsburg man is facing trial after police said he held a group of people captive at gunpoint at a Duquesne home in December — just days after being released from jail for a separate assault.
During a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Duquesne, a district judge held 20 charges against Damian J. Francis, 44, including three counts each of aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, false imprisonment and making terroristic threats.
District Judge Scott H. Schricker dismissed seven charges, including multiple counts of attempted homicide and kidnapping for ransom, court records show.
The Allegheny County Office of the Public Defender, which represents Francis, declined comment Wednesday.
Francis remained in the Allegheny County Jail. Bail was denied.
Duquesne police were dispatched to a Viola Avenue home around 7:45 a.m. Dec. 19 for what they called “a possible hostage situation,” a criminal complaint in the case said.
Officers met a woman there whose sister messaged her on Facebook saying a man shot at her and was holding people at gunpoint at an address on Viola.
Francis left the home at 123 Viola Ave. after officers arrived and was detained without incident, police said.
Officers found three alleged victims inside. One was in a bathroom, another was “hiding in the closet of the bedroom,” the complaint said. A fourth person told police he was sleeping and “was unaware of anything going on.”
The alleged victims told police Francis refused to let them leave or use their phones. He struck one person in the face then grabbed her cellphone and threw it to the ground, breaking the device, the complaint said.
One person said Francis pointed a gun at her, the complaint said. Two of the other people in the house stepped in front of the woman to protect her.
Francis then pointed a gun at the couch and fired a shot, the complaint said.
The group told police they were “in fear of their lives,” the complaint said.
Police said they later found a black and silver 9 mm pistol between a cushion and arm rest of a sofa. It had one round in the chamber.
The gun wasn’t registered to Francis or anyone at the home, the complaint said.
When police arrested Francis he was carrying 9 mm rounds in his left hand and additional rounds and a crack pipe in his right pants pocket, the complaint said.
Duquesne police did not return a phone call or email Wednesday seeking comment.
Francis cannot legally carry a gun due to a previous conviction, police said.
He pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery in Houston in 2009, court records in Texas show.
Francis also pleaded guilty in December to simple assault and recklessly endangering another person in a separate case in Pittsburgh, court records show.
Now-retired Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Flaherty sentenced Francis Dec. 15 to time served, followed by six months’ probation, court records show.
Francis is set to appear in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court in April.
