PITTSBURGH (AP) _ A judge has found a Pittsburgh homicide detective not guilty of stealing an envelope of cash mistakenly left on a convenience store counter.
Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey Manning said Wednesday that prosecutors didn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Michael Reddy intended to keep the money.
The 41-year-old detective testified he planned to turn in the $220 to his superiors after he and his partner returned from an overtime assignment in another county.
Reddy was charged after the man who left the money behind last July returned to claim it moments later, and video surveillance showed Reddy picking it up and putting it into his pants pocket.
Reddy didn’t mention the money to his partner before he was summoned to headquarters to explain his actions later that day.
Reddy remains on paid administrative leave.
71-year-old Pittsburgh woman shot in leg while knitting
PITTSBURGH (AP) _ Pittsburgh police say a 71-year-old woman was wounded while knitting inside her home on the city’s North Side.
Police spokeswoman Sonya Toler says the woman was shot in the leg at 8:54 p.m. Monday. She was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in stable condition.
Police say officers recovered five shell casings near a basketball court across the street.
The woman told investigators she was sitting in a chair knitting when her front window exploded and she felt an immediate pain in her left leg.
Police are unsure what started the shooting or who the target was.
An investigation is ongoing.
Feds: Man retaliated against FBI agent via Craigslist sex ad
by JOE MANDAK
Associated Press Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) _ A man has been charged with stalking and harassing an FBI agent who had investigated him by posting a fake Craigslist sex ad that included the agent’s phone number and address.
The interstate stalking charge against 47-year-old Frederick Banks, of Pittsburgh, was unsealed this week. A federal magistrate on Tuesday ordered Banks jailed until trial.
The agent isn’t named in the indictment and is identified only by his initials, T.P. He has since transferred to the Tampa, Florida area, where the Craigslist ad was posted June 25, according to a printout of it filed with the court.
The ad identifies the poster as a “married white boy” who is seeking a male sexual partner for himself and his wife, described as a “blonde gorgeous girl next door type.” The ad, which says “all races welcome can play anytime,” resulted in the agent getting two phone calls in response, prosecutors said.
The agent worked in Pittsburgh and helped investigate Banks before he was sentenced to five years in prison for a 2003 case in which he sold bogus and pirated computer software online, authorities and court records said.
Banks was later convicted in a 2004 case of trying to buy coins and other valuables online with bad checks and sentenced to an additional five years and three months in prison. He was released from prison in 2013 but was sent back for 14 more months after he violated his probation by opening foreign exchange accounts using stolen identities, court records show.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Pesto ordered Banks jailed given his recent criminal conduct “coupled with the very different character” of the Craigslist ad.
“I find defendant is a serious threat to the safety of TP, and family, and potentially others with whom the defendant has legal disputes,” Pesto wrote.
Banks had falsely claimed the agent held his girlfriend at gunpoint to get her to implicate him in counterfeit software, authorities said, and apparently sought retribution by posting the Craigslist ad.
Banks’ attorney didn’t immediately return a call and an email seeking comment Wednesday.
Statue honoring fallen police dogs added to memorial
PITTSBURGH (AP) _ A statue honoring police dogs killed in the line of duty has been added to a law enforcement memorial in western Pennsylvania.
The cooper image of a sitting dog is now part of the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial near Heinz Field in Pittsburgh to honor four K-9 officers.
They include Rocco, an 8-year-old German shepherd killed last year while aiding officers trying to make an arrest. After Rocco’s death, lawmakers toughened penalties for killing police dogs.
Regional K-9 officers and their partners were among about 75 people who attended the dedication of the statue Saturday.
Also honored at the ceremony were Ulf, a Pittsburgh K-9 shot to death in 2008; Jupp, a Pittsburgh K-9 hit by a car in 1991; and Joker, a Penn Hills K-9 stabbed in 1987.
About Post Author
