Four Teens Jailed in Convenience Store Robbery

Youths held on $5,000 bond; theft yielded cash, tobacco products

By Staff Reports
The Tube City Almanac
July 11, 2024
Posted in: Crime and Police News

Four teen-agers — aged 15 to 16 — are being held in the Allegheny County Jail in connection with an armed robbery last week at a Grandview Avenue convenience store.

At a hearing yesterday in Pittsburgh Municipal Court, the youths were ordered held in lieu of $5,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing July 24.

Pennsylvania law requires juveniles who are accused of using a weapon in commission of a felony to be charged as adults. Except in rare cases, Tube City Almanac does not publish the names of minors charged with crimes.

According to a criminal complaint, a group of three young men entered the convenience store on July 4 and a fourth stood outside as a lookout.

The victim told McKeesport police one of the teen-agers was wearing a black face mask, gray gloves, black shoes and a track suit with a prominent logo on the legs, and was armed with a black and silver 9-mm handgun. That youth held the clerk at gunpoint while a second youth, also masked and gloved, emptied the cash register, according to the complaint.

A third teen-ager, carrying a blue backpack and wearing a mask and gloves, went behind the counter and filled it with tobacco products, the complaint alleges.

The four then fled on foot, police said.

McKeesport police said an officer with a K-9 tracking dog arrived on the scene a short time later and followed a trail to a home on Wesley Street. Police said they recovered loose currency on the ground — believed to have been taken from the store — between the site of the robbery and the home.

According to the complaint, police called the homeowner, who said her son was at home with several of his friends, and told them to answer the door for officers.

The complaint alleges that police obtained surveillance video from the store that showed the suspects wearing clothing that matched the outfits worn by all four of the young men, who were detained.

Police obtained a search warrant for the Wesley Street home and found a handgun, used gloves, black face masks and a blue backpack filled with tobacco products, according to the complaint.

All four youths are charged by McKeesport police with robbery, theft by unlawful taking and criminal conspiracy. Additionally, one of the youths is charged with a violation of the state Uniform Firearms Act, court documents state.

Originally published July 11, 2024.

In other news:
"Wilmerding Prepares f…" || "Complaint Alleges Wro…"