Monday, May 20, 2013
Frank Zahler is accused of telling a man in Barnes & Noble that he had bomb materials in his briefcase similar to the bombs used in the Boston Marathon.
The elderly man accused of causing the evacuation of South Hills Village mall last month was in tears apologizing to the judge and thanking the Bethel Park police for treating him well at the end of his preliminary hearing on Monday. District Judge Robert Wyda continued the hearing for Frank Zahler until July 1 so that behavioral health specialists could help Zahler discover the underlying cause of why he made the "callous and stupid" remarks on April 21, just days after the Boston Marathon tragedy. "What you said was clearly wrong," Wyda told Zahler. "We need to get things mentally and emotionally under control. "You need to continue to work with these people (health specialists) to help you help yourself." Zahler was handcuffed in the …
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Allegheny County homicide detectives and Bethel Park police are searching for a motive.
Allegheny County homicide detectives and Bethel Park police are investigating what prompted a Venetia man to attack the owners of Armen's House of Music on Library Road on Saturday, according to the Observer-Reporter. Police say Andrew Moore, 31, of Venetia, stopped in the store for a few minutes and then left. Shortly before noon, he returned with a wooden club and attacked Sylvia and Alfred Armen, according to the Post-Gazette. Mr. Armen shot Moore with his gun. Moore was pronounced dead at the scene. The Armens are in their 70s and are known for being active in the Bethel Park community. They were both injured during the attack, and are expected to be OK. They told police they had never met Moore before the incident. No charges have …
Monday, April 22, 2013
Bethel Park police took an elderly man into custody Sunday night.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
A witness tells Patch he saw a man get taken into custody at Red Robin.
Bethel Park police evacuated South Hills Village mall, Carmike 10 and surrounding restaurants Sunday night after a man claimed he had bomb-making material in his briefcase. South Hills Village released the following statement at 10:30 p.m. Sunday: The local authorities have confirmed that there is no longer a threat, and the mall is now safe for our customers, tenants and employees. We will re-open for business tomorrow at 10 a.m., regular business hours. A man went into Barnes & Noble around 6:15 p.m. Sunday and stated he had bomb-making material in his briefcase. Two customers overheard the 70-year-old man and called police, according to WTAE. The man left and went into Red Robin, where customers said he was acting strangely. Jeremy …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The man is accused of threatening a Sunoco clerk with a gun.
Bethel Park police say they nabbed the man who tried to rob the Sunoco on Route 19 at gunpoint right before Thanksgiving. The detective on the case also believes the suspect is connected to the Subway robbery in Castle Shannon, along with robberies in Coraopolis, Bellevue and Ben Avon. At this time, Dean Pletz, 44, of Bethel Park, is charged with one count of robbery and one count of persons not to possess, use, manufacture, control, sell or transfer firearms. The Allegheny County District Attorney's office is expected to file more charges against Pletz. During the attempted robbery investigation, information was received from other police agencies and video evidence generated Pletz as the suspect, according to the criminal complaint filed…
Thursday, November 29, 2012
The Bethel Park Dairy Queen was robbed Friday night and might be connected to other nearby robberies.
Bethel Park police are interviewing the suspects arrested in the Union Township Dairy Queen robbery case. The Dairy Queen is located just miles up Route 88 from the Bethel Park Dairy Queen that was robbed the night before, on Friday, Nov. 23. Chief John Mackey said detectives suspect the man might be connected to the Bethel Park Dairy Queen robbery, the Bethel Park Sunoco attempted robbery and Castle Shannon Subway robbery. The descriptions in each case are similar, he said. "We don't deal with that many robberies," Mackey said. "What are the chances it's different people?" Along with interviewing the Union Township suspect, Mackey said detectives are combing through surveillance video to try to identify the suspect or suspects. Follow us …
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
The robbery might be linked to the Sunoco attempted robbery on Route 19.
Bethel Park police are searching for the man who robbed the Dairy Queen on Route 88. Police are investigating whether it was the same man who robbed a Subway in Castle Shannon and attempted to rob the Sunoco on Route 19 in Bethel Park last Wednesday, according to WPXI. A Dairy Queen employee told WPXI that the man walked up to the counter with a grocery bag and demanded money. He was wearing a black hoodie, sunglasses, a face mask and showed a gun. The Sunoco near the Upper St. Clair Township border was robbed last Wednesday afternoon. The new employee didn't know how to open the register and ran and locked himself in a back room, so the man didn't get away with any money when he showed a gun. A Dairy Queen on Route 88 in Union Township …
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
The suspect showed a gun and demanded money from the Sunoco on Wednesday afternoon.
A white male in a black hoodie tried to rob the Sunoco on the corner of Washington and North Highland roads at gunpoint on Wednesday afternoon—one of the busiest travel days of the year. The man behind the register had only been on the job for two days when the suspect pointed a gun at him and demanded money, so he didn't know how to open the register without a customer buying something. According to an employee at the gas station, the victim struggled with the register, then ran to a back room and locked himself in. The suspect ran off from the gas station without any money. The Bethel Park police were unable to provide Patch with any details about the attempted robbery until the chief returned to the office. Officers did visit Louis …
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
A new movie is being released Saturday night in Bethel Park to raise awareness about police officers in this area who have died in the line of the duty.
- POLICE & FIRE
- Mike Jones
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Wednesday, November 14, 2012
A new movie is being released Saturday night to raise awareness about police officers who have died in the line of the duty. The movie, Heroes Behind the Badge, is a documentary that will tell the stories of seven officers who have sacrificed their lives and their families and colleagues who loved them. The movie will premiere at the Bethel Park High School auditorium on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. Advance tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the Bethel Park Police Department during normal business hours. Or they can be purchased at the door for $20. Half of the net proceeds are going directly to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. The movie is directed by award-winning filmmaker Wayne Derrick and narrated by Law & …
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Two other charges, including failure to comply with registration of sexual offenders, were held for court.
Andrew David Owens, 56, was held for court Monday on one count of failure to comply with registration of sexual offenders in the state of North Carolina and one count of furnishing a malted beverage to a minor. Owens appeared in district Judge Robert Wyda's courtroom Monday for his preliminary hearing. After hearing testimony from the 19-year-old victim and a Bethel Park police detective, Judge Wyda dropped one count of sex assault and one count of indecent assault against Owens. The victim said he met Owens in the South Hills Village food court on Sept. 12. He said they recognized each other after riding on the T together the day before. Owens told the victim he could get him a job laying cable, according to the victim. The victim …
Duke
6:05 pm on Monday, May 20, 2013
I am always careful about what I say. I have a friend called Jack and if I see him at the airport I never say, "Hi, Jack." more ›