February 07, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A line of McKeesport police, fire and EMS vehicles prepares to leave the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office from Pittsburgh’s Strip District with the remains of slain police Officer Sean Sluganski. (Submitted photo special to Tube City Almanac)
An escort of McKeesport emergency vehicles carried the body of slain police Officer Sean Sluganski to a South Hills funeral home on Tuesday afternoon.
Sluganski, 32, who had served on the McKeesport police department for two years, died Monday following a shooting on Grandview Avenue.
Allegheny County police have charged Johnathan Jermia Morris, 31, with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, assault on a law-enforcement officer and attempted murder of a law-enforcement officer in the first degree in connection with the death of Sluganski and the wounding of fellow McKeesport police officer Charles Thomas Jr., 35.
Morris is in custody at a Pittsburgh hospital, awaiting arraignment.
Sluganski and Thomas were investigating a domestic disturbance at a home on Willow Street shared by Morris and his mother, Candace Tyler. In an affidavit, county detectives said that Tyler called police because Morris was suffering a mental health episode as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder.
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February 07, 2023 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News
The son of a former McKeesport police officer who was fired in 2021 has been charged in connection with the murder of a current police officer, and with wounding another.
Johnathan Jermia Morris, 31, is awaiting preliminary arraignment on charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, assault on a law-enforcement officer and attempted murder of a law-enforcement officer in the first degree.
Morris is accused by Allegheny County police of fatally wounding McKeesport police Officer Sean Sluganski, 32, and injuring Officer Chuck Thomas Jr., 35, after they responded to a domestic dispute at the home of Morris’ mother, Candace Tyler.
Emergency personnel said Morris is currently under police guard at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, Oakland, where he was flown following the incident Monday afternoon.
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February 06, 2023 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A mile-long possession of emergency vehicles, led by three motorcycle police officers, escorted an ambulance from UPMC McKeesport hospital to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office on Monday evening.
The McKeesport Ambulance Rescue Service vehicle carried the remains of city police Officer Sean Sluganski, 32, who died after being shot Monday afternoon near the intersection of Versailles and Grandview avenues. Sluganski was fatally wounded by a suspect as he and another officer, Charles Thomas Jr., 35, responded to a request for help during a domestic disturbance.
The suspect in Sluganski’s murder, whose name has not yet been officially made public, was shot by a third, unidentified McKeesport police officer near the intersection of Versailles and Patterson avenues.
According to unconfirmed reports, the suspect fired at least 15 rounds at Sluganski and Thomas. Allegheny County police homicide detectives are investigating and said Monday that neighbors and business owners had been “very helpful” in providing witness statements.
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February 06, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
The Allegheny County sheriff’s office is covering some police calls in the City of McKeesport following an incident on Monday afternoon in which one officer was killed and another injured.
Pennsylvania State Police and the Allegheny County police also are assisting, county officials said.
“The City of McKeesport is in many ways the ‘heart’ of the Mon Valley,” the sheriff’s office said in a prepared statement. “Today that heart is broken by senseless violence, and another stark example of the danger that our law enforcement officers face every day, on every shift and on every call.”
McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko said Monday at a press conference that the city will “continue to do everything we can to collaborate with other law enforcement agencies and use all of the resources available to us.”
A prayer vigil has been scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight (Feb. 6) at the Beulah Park campus of the McKeesport United Methodist Church Shared Ministry, located at 1615 Grandview Ave., just a few blocks from the shootings.
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, who lives not far from the scene, said his thoughts, and those of his wife, Blayre, are with the officers, their families and the community. “This tragedy hits close to home for me and my family,” Davis said.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. also issued a statement of condolences.
“My condolences are with the family of the officer killed in McKeesport and I’m praying for the recovery of the second officer injured,” Casey said. “My office has been in contact with local officials to offer support.”
“Deepest condolences go out to the family of the McKeesport police officer killed today while serving the community,” State Rep. Nick Pisciottano of West Mifflin said. “My thoughts go out to the second injured officer and his family as we all hope for a swift recovery.”
February 06, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
BREAKING STORY: This is a breaking story and is subject to change.
Mayor: ‘Pray for our city and we’ll get through this’ ...
Suspect in custody following incident
A city police officer is dead and another was seriously wounded following an incident Monday afternoon near the intersection of Versailles and Grandview avenues.
The area was closed to the public and motorists and pedestrians were advised to avoid the neighborhood. The nearby McKeesport Area High School campus was placed on exterior lockdown, though classes were dismissed at the usual time.
UPMC McKeesport hospital also was closed to everyone except emergency personnel and patients.
McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko, police Chief Adam Alfer and state Sen. Jim Brewster joined Allegheny County police at a press conference just before 4 p.m.
“Please keep the family in your prayers, and all police officers in your prayers at this time,” Cherepko said, his voice breaking. “Pray for our city and we’ll get through this.”
The names of the officers involved have not yet been made public. It is the first death of a McKeesport police officer in the line of duty since 1993.
Allegheny County police said city officers responded at around 12:30 p.m. to what was described as a “domestic dispute” between a mother and her adult son at a home on Wilson Street, about a block from the intersection of Grandview and Versailles.
Investigators said the suspect walked away as police attempted to question him. A family member warned the officers that the suspect might be armed.
County police Superintendent Christopher Kearns said that as the suspect walked along Grandview Avenue, with the officers behind him, he suddenly turned and fired, striking them.
The suspect then continued on foot to the intersection of Patterson and Versailles avenues, county police said, where he encountered another McKeesport police officer and opened fire. That police officer returned fire, striking the suspect and wounding him.
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January 26, 2023 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News, Duquesne News
A former Duquesne resident faces more than six years in federal prison and six years probation following his conviction on drug and firearms charges, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Cindy K. Chung said.
Brandon McCaskill, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti after he was found guilty on charges of possession of controlled substances with intent to deliver and possession of a firearm in connection with drug trafficking.
Prosecutors allege that on Aug. 17, 2020, Duquesne police officers visited McCaskill’s home in connection with a separate incident. While there, prosecutors said, police found McCaskill seated on the front porch with a backpack and detected a strong odor of drugs.
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January 23, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
An unidentified teen-ager is in critical condition at a local hospital following a shooting Monday afternoon on Dinsmore Street in the city.
McKeesport police said officers were dispatched at 2:27 p.m. to a report of “multiple shots fired” and discovered the victim suffering from gunshot wounds. The incident happened near the corner of Dinsmore and Meadow streets, police said.
The victim’s age and the extent of his injuries was not immediately known.
Allegheny County police said in a prepared statement that homicide detectives are investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call the County Police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
January 23, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
McKeesport Area High School was put on lockdown Monday morning after a plastic BB gun was discovered in a student’s backpack.
City police Chief Adam Alfer said the investigation is ongoing and that charges had not been filed. The student involved is 16 years old and attends the high school, he said.
Tube City Almanac does not identify suspects who are charged as juveniles.
Alfer said officers from McKeesport, White Oak and Penn State Greater Allegheny were dispatched after Allegheny County 9-1-1 received a report that a handgun had been spotted in a student’s belongings.
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January 06, 2023 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: Crime and Police News, Duquesne News
For months, Tom Shaw has been Duquesne Police Department’s “acting” police chief. That changed Tuesday night as the Mayor Scott Adams and city council removed the interim title from his resume.
By a 4-0 vote, council this week named Shaw the permanent police chief. Councilman Tim Caldwell was absent. Shaw also was unable to attend the meeting, because he was away on business, Adams said.
Council also named Duquesne police Lt. Karra Vance assistant police chief. Vance served as acting police chief after former police Chief Thomas Dunlevy was placed on leave in 2021. Dunlevy was fired by city council on Dec. 6.
Both appointments took effect Wednesday.
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January 05, 2023 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News, McKeesport and Region News
A local business owner who is challenging McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko in this year’s election has been arrested by state drug enforcement agents and accused of being part of a cocaine trafficking ring allegedly led by his campaign manager.
Corry J. Sanders, 52, who obtained a pardon for a previous drug offense through the efforts of now-U.S. Sen. John Fetterman and other elected officials, is charged by the state attorney general’s office with two counts each of drug possession, possession with intent to deliver and delivery.
The arrest — originally reported by Pittsburgh’s KDKA-TV on New Year’s Eve — was confirmed Thursday afternoon by the attorney general’s office.
Investigators allege that Sanders sold cocaine to a confidential informant on two separate occasions, including at his Locust Street barbershop, Kool Kutz, in November 2022.
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