PITTSBURGH, PA – At approximately 12:44 a.m. today, ShotSpotter detected shots fired in several locations in Homewood. They system reported shots fired in the 7000 block of Felicia Way, then the 7000 block of Bennett Street, then the 7100 and 7000 blocks of Frankstown Avenue, and the 900 block of N. Lang Ave. Multiple Zone 5 units responded.
Officers came upon a male who was fleeing the area on foot but were unable to apprehend him.
Near the intersection of N. Lang and Frankstown avenues, Officers were approached by a 33-year-old male from East Hills who had been shot in the left arm while walking to a car. He is in stable condition. Another victim, a 21-year-old male from Penn Hills, was shot in the abdomen and is in critical condition. Paramedics took both victims to UPMC Presbyterian.
Investigators are looking for a Black male, approximately 25 years old, who wears his hair in cornrows in connection to the shooting. He may have been wearing a black Northface coat.
Three vehicles that were parked in a lot at the intersection of N. Lang and Frankstown were also shot.
Pittsburgh brothers get house arrest for food stamp fraud
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Brothers who own a downtown Pittsburgh convenience store will each spend six months on house arrest as part of their two-year probation sentences for food stamp fraud.
Prosecutors argued 43-year-old Hadi Ibrahim, of Green Tree, and his 41-year-old brother, Wesam Ibrahim, of Scott Township, deserved at least a year in prison for costing the federal government nearly $200,000.
But their attorneys said the hard-working Syrian immigrants deserve a second chance because they’ve already started to repay the money and cooperated with investigators as soon as they were caught.
Tuesday’s sentence essentially split the difference between the two sides.
Prosecutors say the brothers let customers at City News & Arcade trade in food stamps for 50 cents on the dollar, or otherwise use food stamps to buy items that are illegal under the program, such as cigarettes.
Man, 90, dead apparently from carbon monoxide from car
MONROEVILLE, Pa. (AP) – Police believe a 90-year-old man died accidentally after leaving his car running in the attached garage of his home in the Pittsburgh suburbs.
Family members tell Monroeville police the man lived alone. They found him inside another part of his home about 6:15 p.m. Monday.
The Allegheny County medical examiner planned an autopsy on the body of Neil Miele (mee-EL’-ee) Tuesday. But officials suspect he died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Police believe he simply forgot to turn off his car after driving home.
Trapped: Pittsburgh police Zone 5 station infested with rats
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh police have hired a pest control company to set traps for rats that have infested one of the city’s zone stations.
Police spokeswoman Sonya Toler tells the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (https://bit.ly/1AiPVCs ) that a hole in an large outdoor trash container reportedly attracted the rodents.
Now, a pest control firm is baiting traps to catch the vermin.
Officer Howard McQuillan, president of the city’s police union, says he’s concerned about rat droppings making workers sick, and especially for those employees who don’t leave the Zone 5 police station to go on patrol.
McQuillan says, “There are people who work in that station who don’t leave, like the desk officer, the civilian clerks … not to mention all the officers who go in for roll call.”
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Information from: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, https://pghtrib.com
Coroner: Inmate found hanged in western Pennsylvania jail
WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) – A coroner was investigating after an inmate was found hanged in his cell at a county jail in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Washington County Coroner Tim Warco didn’t immediately release the inmate’s name, because his family had yet to be notified.
Guard at the Washington County Correctional Facility, about 20 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, last spoke with the inmate about 5:30 p.m. Monday, then found him hanging unresponsive about two hours later.
Guards and medical personnel tried to resuscitate the inmate but could not.
An autopsy was scheduled Tuesday.
Grand jury indicts 16 in identity theft, tax return scam
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A federal grand jury in western Pennsylvania has indicted 16 people – most from the New York City area – in a wire fraud and identity theft ring that prosecutors say caused the Internal Revenue Service to pay more than $10 million in fraudulent tax refunds.
Federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh and Erie say the group stole the identities of more than 11,000 people and used the information to open nearly 3,500 phony bank accounts involving more than 440 financial institutions.
Authorities say the group used the stolen identities to submit tax returns claiming $38 million in refunds, more than $10 million of which was actually paid.
Most of those involved face up to 20 years in prison if convicted, though two key members face more than 36 years each.
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