The City of McKeesport is in
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Population:   24,752
Median Income:   $12,191
Median age:   41.6
Unemployment rate:   5.40%
Recent job growth:   0.52%
Future job growth:   1.96%




Homicides in Allegheny County:
2002

Compiled By David Conti
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review


There were 35 homicides in Allegheny County in 2002. Eleven of them remain unsolved.


Jan. 12

John Wieczorek, 79, fatally shot his wife Mary Wieczorek, 70, inside their home on North Cliff Mine Road in North Fayette Township before turning the gun on himself.



Feb. 4

John Folino, 32, of Washington County, went to the Scott Township home where his estranged wife Cherie Folino was staying with her brother. When he wasn't allowed in, John Folino fired three bullets into the door, killing Cherie's brother Robert W. Pesano, 32. A jury convicted Folino in December of first degree murder.



Feb. 11

A motorist found Terry Gibbs, 26, of Homewood, laying dead next to his car along Runnette Street in Penn Hills. Police believe Pierce Dumas, 19, shot Gibbs because of a disagreement over drugs. The killing remains unsolved because Dumas was killed in Penn Hills in June.



Feb. 16

Kenneth Sharp and his girlfriend Rasheeda Pennybaker watched in horror as Dion Jamal Horton fatally shot Jeffrey Nichols during a drug deal outside the Duquesne Place apartment in Duquesne, police said. Two days later, police said, Horton shot Sharp, 24, and Pennybaker, 19, along a secluded road in West Mifflin. Pennybaker, who was six months pregnant, lost her jaw but survived. Sharp died. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against Horton.



April 5

The apparent killing spree began when Andre D. McBryde, 21, of Wilkinsburg, was found dead in his girlfriend's apartment on North Second Street in Duquesne.

Police had few leads until May 15, when Tyrone "Papa" Wells, 22, was found shot to death in his Wilkinsburg home. Police began to search for Wells' cousin Carl Scott, 20. On May 28, police spoke to Scott's mother, Cynthia Scott, 42, about arranging her son's surrender. On May 30, police found her dead in her Duquesne apartment. Pittsburgh police arrested Carl Scott that day following a foot chase.

Scott is awaiting trial in his mother's death and faces a Jan. 7 hearing on charges connected to the deaths of Wells and McBryde.



April 24

Brandon Taylor, 22, shook his 2-month-old daughter Jaida James so hard inside the family's Baldwin Borough home on Youngridge Drive that she suffered fatal head injuries, police said. Taylor is awaiting trial.



May 10

Charles Sadler, 28, crept into the home of his elderly neighbor Norma Allen to steal money, police said. Inside, he encountered Allen's caretaker, Virginia Dawn Foster, 58, of Swissvale, who had a knife. Police said Sadler used the knife to fatally stab Foster, and then stabbed Allen, 83, who died a month later. Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty against Sadler.



May 16

Jeremy Chapek, 22, stabbed his ex-girlfriend Jessica Havel, 21, at a Mt. Lebanon apartment. Later that night, a hiker in Hell's Hollow Park in Lake County, Ohio, found Chapek's body. Officials said he shot himself. Chapek and Havel had been high school sweethearts in Ohio.



June 19

James M. Ferree, 41, threw his girlfriend's 16-month old son James Walsh Jr. into an empty bathtub inside a McKeesport apartment and shook him, police said. The baby died from the injuries. Ferree, who had a history of child abuse allegations, is awaiting trial.



June 20

Pierce Alexander Dumas, 19, of the Hill District, was found fatally shot in the back yard of a Penn Hills home. He was wanted on charges connected to the killing two weeks before of Eric D. Bryant. Police suspected him in several other homicides. His slaying remains unsolved.



June 26

U.S. Army veteran Norris Jones III, 22, was standing on a street corner a block from the Braddock home in which he was raised. Two unknown men approached him, asked him his name and fatally shot him, police said. His killing remains unsolved.



June 28

Christopher Booth, 17, was sitting on the steps of a friend's house in his Duquesne neighborhood. Witnesses said Allen R. Booth, 21, walked up and fatally shot him. Booth is awaiting trial.



July 13

Police suspect Joseph Howell and Donald Burnham, both 23, went to the Verona apartment of brothers Michael and Robert Balint to buy marijuana and rob the men. Instead, police said, the suspects bound, pistol-whipped and fatally shot Michael Balint, 23, the father of a 2-year-old boy. Howell is awaiting trial. Burnham remains at large.



July 15

A passer-by saw Deborah Melletta's foot sticking out the window of a car parked along Woods Alley in Clairton. Melletta, 37, of Elizabeth Township, had been shot in the head in the alley known for drug sales. Her killing remains unsolved.



July 24

A fight in the parking lot outside of Reece's Supper Club in Duquesne led to gunfire, killing Lorris Staples, 22, of Duquesne. Police arrested Ramsey Wood, 22, of Wilkinsburg, who is awaiting trial.



Aug. 28

Michael Melendez, 35, fatally stabbed his mother, Linda Melendez, 56, in her West Deer Township home. He drove off with his two children, ages 2 and 14, police said. Michael Melendez was arrested a short time later after a car chase and stand-off with police. He is awaiting trial.



Aug. 29

Daniel Patrick McKee, 35, violently shook one of his 4-year-old twin daughters in their Scott Township home because she had wet her pants, police said. Carmella Slider died the next day from brain injuries. McKee is awaiting trial.



Sept. 8

Kevin Bivens' history of drug dealing and violence came to end when he was shot outside his Penn Hills home. The 30-year-old man died a day before he was stand trial on charges of hindering a police investigation. His death remains unsolved.



Sept. 27

Allan Lamont McClelland, 22, was found shot in the head in a North Braddock alley. McClelland had recently moved to Homestead from Dale City, Va. His killing remains unsolved.



Oct. 12

A night out on the town in Homestead ended tragically when Kenya Fitzgerald, 20, allegedly shot his friend Allahtume Shelton, 20, of North Carolina, inside a jitney van, police said. Fitzgerald is awaiting trial.



Oct. 21

Robert Morris "Froggy" Anthony told police he went to Sharpsburg to sell crack cocaine to Paul R. Pusic, 44, a management consultant from McCandless. When the drug deal went sour, police said, Anthony, 21, of Penn Hills, fatally shot Pusic. Anthony is awaiting trial. He is also charged in connection with a violent home-invasion robbery and kidnapping that occurred five days before.



Nov. 6

Gregory Reese, 34, of Penn Hills, died of bullet wounds he received when he allegedly tried to rob a Forest Hills jewelry store a month before and the shopkeeper shot him. Police said they do not plan to charge the shopkeeper, Frank Certo, because he acted in self-defense.



Nov. 14

An unknown assailant fatally shot Tim Addison, 28, in the face as he walked out of his Penn Hills home.



Nov. 17

Rodney Smith, 36, slashed the throat of Michael Mack, 42, inside a bedroom in Mack's McKeesport home, police said. Smith told police Mack, 43, threatened him with a knife and asked for sex. The two then struggled for the knife. Smith is awaiting trial.



Nov. 21

Mary Howard drove to a bar near her Crawford Village home in McKeesport to get some drugs, police said. When she walked out, someone fatally shot the 20-year-old mother of two in her head. Her slaying remains unsolved.



Nov. 21

Several shots from a passing car killed Charles G. Clinton, 18, as he walked from his Sheraden home to McKees Rocks. Police said Clinton had a history of robbing drug dealers. His killing remains unsolved.



Dec. 19

Marvin Housch, 42, was shot outside his Findley Drive home in Wilkinsburg after he accused Demetrius Fleming of mistreating his stepdaughter, police said. Police are still searching for Fleming, 21.



Dec. 19

An unknown assailant put a gun to the head of Charles Jay, 32, and fired one bullet through his baseball cap as he stood outside a building in the Rolling Wood Apartments in North Versailles. The shooting remains unsolved.



Dec. 22

Atia Banks, 2, of Penn Hills, died from head injuries in Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh a week after she was admitted for the second time in a month. Police have arrested her mother, Tia D. Banks, and her mother's boyfriend, Duane Williams, both 20.



Dec. 24

Brian M. Frisbie told police he and his friend Dustin Garger threw James Miller against a wall and kicked him during an argument inside Tom's Diner in Dormont over that evening's Steelers game. Miller, 49, an electronics store manager and part-time magician from Castle Shannon, died from head injuries. Frisbie, 23, of Carrick, and Garger, 24, of Brentwood, are in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting a hearing on homicide charges.



Dec. 29

Rashan Harris, 26, of Coraopolis, was fatally shot after having an argument inside the Chez Lounge in Moon Township. Police were searching for suspects.