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Police arrest 4 in string of car thefts in North Hills

Police arrested four people, including three teens, in connection with a string of car thefts in several communities in the North Hills.

Markazz Smithson, 18, and the three teens, who are ages 15 and 17, were arrested early Wednesday. Charges are expected to be filed against Smithson on Wednesday, and charges are pending against the teens. All will be charged with car theft.

Allegheny County police said they are assisting O'Hara Township police in connection with several stolen vehicles and numerous thefts from vehicles in the township. Early Tuesday, two vehicles were stolen from a home in the township.

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Investigators said they encountered the four suspects at a GetGo on Freeport Road in Fox Chapel around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. The two vehicles stolen from O'Hara Township, along with a vehicle stolen from Ross Township, were in the parking lot.

Police said when they approached the suspects, the suspects left the store and drove away in two of the vehicles, leaving the third in the GetGo parking lot. Police said the suspects struck a security vehicle at the Waterworks Mall, then abandoned one of the cars. All four suspects then escaped in the third vehicle, police said.

Around 4 a.m. Wednesday, O'Hara Township police encountered Smithson sitting in a vehicle that was reported stolen, police said. He was taken into custody after a brief foot pursuit, and officials determined that Smithson had accompanied the three teens to the area with the intent of committing thefts, police said.

In the meantime, Indiana Township police responded to a report of people fighting on Saxonburg Boulevard and found the three teens with a vehicle reported stolen in Harmar Township. The teens tried to escape but were caught with the help of numerous police departments from the area.

Among the crimes tied to the suspects are a car stolen from a home in Ross  Township on Friday that was recovered Tuesday at an O’Hara Township gas station, along with two other stolen cars.

One of the victims, Roberta Simoni, said her car was stolen from her Ross Township driveway on Friday and was found in a Harmar Township gas station parking lot on Tuesday.

"It feels very personal. I feel very violated that somebody can just take something that doesn't belong to them," Simoni said.

It is not immediately clear how many other thefts may be involved, although Channel 11 News saw police from Indiana Township, Hampton, Harmar, O’Hara, Fox Chapel and West Deer at a scene Wednesday morning.

Police said they are still tallying the victims, but they know that one car was stolen from the city of Pittsburgh, one from Harmarville, two from O'Hara Township and one from Ross Township.

Officials said the cars were stolen from streets or driveways, and most of the vehicles were unlocked.

Anyone with information is asked to call police.

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