PITTSBURGH — How did a gun registered to a small, rural police department in Washington County wind up being used in a shooting in the Homewood section of the City of Pittsburgh?
It’s a shocking story with twists and turns that was uncovered by Chief Investigator Rick Earle.
A Glock 45 handgun was recovered after a shooting outside a bar in Homewood a year ago.
Pittsburgh Police ran the serial number and discovered the gun was registered to the Chartiers Township Police Department in Houston, Washington County, about an hour’s drive from the shooting scene.
Earle spoke with Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala.
Earle: How did this gun wind up on the streets of Pittsburgh being used in a crime?
Zappala: Yes, causing crime in the City of Pittsburgh. They’re a little defensive down in Washington County about it right now, but usually, law enforcement, if something like this happens, they’re like, Hey, we got to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
11 Investigates reached out to Chartiers Twp. police, and in an email, they declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.
But according to an internal Pittsburgh Police report, obtained by 11 Investigates, a Chartiers Township police officer who resigned in June of 2024 left the department-issued handgun in a box on the Chief’s desk, but the Chief never secured it.
Earle: You would have expected a police department to secure this weapon?
Zappala: It should have been secured, yes, in my opinion.
And the Chartiers Twp. Chief, at the time, didn’t discover it missing until three months later, on Sept. 16 and didn’t report it stolen until Oct. 31.
“We’re a small department and everybody is trustworthy here. We’ve never had nothing in all of the years that we’ve been here, anything stolen, period, the Chartiers Township lieutenant told the Pittsburgh detective who questioned him about the gun.
So how did the gun get from the Chartiers Twp. Police Department in Houston, Pennsylvania, to the streets of Homewood in the City of Pittsburgh?
The report indicates multiple people had access to the chief’s office, including the township road crew and cleaning crew, but suggests the likely suspect, a juvenile brought in for questioning about car break-ins, who was briefly left alone in the chief’s office.
He was eventually released to his mother.
Chartiers Twp. Police said they never followed up with the juvenile.
“… I failed to follow up with them juveniles, and you know that’s our bad,” the lieutenant told the Pittsburgh detective.
The detective then went looking for the juveniles, but never found them.
He also expressed concern that no one was investigating the gun theft.
That was, until 11 Investigates started asking questions.
According to the report, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies all declined to investigate, but Chartiers Township police said they are now working with the Washington County District Attorney to get to the bottom of this.
They want to figure out how the gun, just seven months after it went missing from the police department in Houston, wound up in the hands of a convicted felon accused of firing four shots outside a bar in Homewood. No one was hit.
Police said the suspect was seen on a city surveillance camera placing the stolen gun under a trash can.
Police arrested and charged him with receiving stolen property and illegal possession of a firearm.
Earle also spoke with Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor about this.
Earle: As the Mayor of Pittsburgh, does this concern you?
Mayor O’Connor: It does, and I think you know my stance on weapons for a long time, and I think there’s a lot of stolen guns, illegal guns on our streets and that’s a part of a major problem.
Earle: And this came from a police department?
Mayor O’Connor: Yes, so incidents like that cannot happen, especially when you know that the gun should be protected.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s office withdrew all of the charges in this shooting case because the investigating Pittsburgh Police Officer, Sgt. Tariq Francis was unavailable for court.
You may recognize that name.
Earlier this week, he was the subject of an 11 Investigates report about police officers charged with a second DUI and sitting at home and getting paid.
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Francis has been on paid leave since his second DUI in November.
A Public Safety Spokesperson said they are waiting for his case to be adjudicated.
Francis is supposed to appear in court later this month.
Meanwhile, the Chartiers Township police chief retired earlier this year.
The lieutenant is now the Interim Police Chief, and he promised to provide us with some answers soon.
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