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Suspect in Standoff Jailed Without Bond
By Staff Reports
The Tube City Almanac
September 06, 2023
Posted in: Crime and Police News
A city man accused of shooting his girlfriend and then keeping police at bay during an hours-long standoff is being held in the Allegheny County Jail pending a preliminary hearing.
Michael P. Plopi, 42, of Pirl Street is charged by Allegheny County police with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with the incident, which began Monday evening and continued into the early hours Tuesday morning.
Plopi faces a hearing Sept. 18 before Magisterial District Justice Eugene Riazzi. He was denied bail Tuesday following arraignment by Magisterial District Judge Jehosha Wright.
The standoff disrupted life in the neighborhoods around the intersection of Pirl Street and Versailles Avenue and involved dozens of local, county and state police officers.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed in Allegheny County night court, city police were dispatched to the 1200 block of Pirl Street just before 7:30 p.m. when a ShotSpotter device detected gunfire.
Police arrived to find the victim, whose name has not been officially released, suffering gun shot wounds to the torso, legs and hands. As officers helped her to safety, the complaint states, they heard four more shots, which led them to believe that someone was firing at them.
A witness told police they heard an argument at the Plopi home, then observed a man they identified as Plopi fire three shots at the victim before his gun jammed.
The victim then climbed over a balcony at the residence, the witness told police, before the shooter cleared the jammed gun and fired a fourth shot at the victim, according to the complaint.
In the complaint, police state that another family member who was inside the house when the incident began told investigators that she witnessed the argument, which began as the victim was about to leave the house to go to work.
According to the affidavit, during the ensuing negotiations between Plopi and police, the other family member was released without being harmed.
The victim was taken to UPMC Presbyterian hospital, Oakland, police said.
Plopi is not permitted to own a firearm due to a prior conviction for burglary, police said.
Originally published September 06, 2023.
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