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December 8th, 2009, 12:04 AM
Arrest made in shooting death of Penn Hills police officer
The victim was responding to a shooting at a home
Monday, December 07, 2009
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09341/1019010-56.stm#ixzz0YKPYzHQh
Police have made an arrest in the shooting death of a Penn Hills police officer, who died of gunshot wounds last night after responding to a home where a second man was found shot to death inside.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office identified the officer as Michael Crawshaw, 32. Allegheny County Police Supt. Charles Moffatt said the officer was gunned down, apparently with an assault rifle, as he sat in his car awaiting backup in the 200 block of Johnston Road.
Officers found the other man, Danyal Morton, 40, dead of gunshot wounds inside.
The shootings occurred just before 8:30 p.m. Mr. Morton was pronounced dead at 8:30 p.m. Officer Crawshaw died at 8:45 at UPMC Presbyterian.
Supt. Moffatt said police have arrested Ronald Robinson, 31, of Homewood. He will be charged with two counts of homicide and burglary. Other charges could be pending, Supt. Moffatt said. He agreed to come in for questioning around 4 a.m. Police had information that led them to Mr. Robinson, but they did not explain what that information was.
Police said Mr. Robinson came to the home seeking payment of $500 from Mr. Morton related to a drug deal.
Penn Hills Police Chief Howard Burton said today that Officer Crawshaw, working the 4 to midnight shift, was dispatched after a man in the Johnston Road house called police and told them there was a problem. Emergency call takers then could hear gunshots and the victim breathing.
Officer Crawshaw responded and parked his car two houses down the street. Supt. Moffatt said that Officer Crawshaw was told to remain in his patrol car and wait for backup. Shots were heard from the house, and then a suspect came out and fired at the officer through the windshield as he sat in the car.
Medical Examiner Karl E. Williams said at the press conference that the officer was shot three or four times; the fatal wound was to the head. Officials believe the weapon was an assault rifle.
Supt. Moffatt said the officer managed to fire at least one shot.
Inside the house, at least nine shots were fired. Mr. Morton was found lying in a bathroom, dead of gunshot wounds.
Allegheny County detectives and Penn Hills police were able to locate Mr. Robinson early this morning. He was wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet, and officials said they found weapons near Mr. Robinson's house.
Mr. Robinson has been arrested several times in the past, including on drug and firearms charges.
He pleaded guilty in 2005 to carrying a firearm without a license and was sentenced to 2-1/2 to 5 years in prison. He was paroled on Aug. 26, 2007, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Mr. Morton spent several years in prison on two separate burglary stints. He was incarcerated with the state from 1998 until 2002, and again from 2003 until January 2008 when he was paroled. However, he violated that parole in January of this year and was held an addtional two months.
Mr. Morton's criminal record dates back to 1991 and includes charges for fleeing or eluding, resisting arrest, recklessly endangering another person, criminal mischief and theft.
Court records indicate that on Dec. 16, 2001, city police were called to a street corner in Homewood where they found Mr. Robinson and another man, Marcus Jernigan. Mr. Jernigan, a cousin of Mr. Robinson, had been shot in the ankle.
The sidewalk was littered with .380 caliber handgun shells.
According to the police reports from the time, Mr. Robinson was suspected of throwing an object into nearby bushes. They retrieved a .380 caliber handgun with an empty clip.
Mr. Robinson's case took several years to find its way through the county courts, where he was convicted in 2005 of illegal possession of a handgun.
He was sentenced to 30 to 60 months in prison --- a sentence his lawyer, Michael Foglia, said was on the high end of the guidelines.
Mr. Foglia today said that Mr. Robinson had never been charged with shooting Mr. Jernigan and had, rather, come to his aid after he was shot by someone else.
The case took four years to reach court because Mr. Jernigan, who was to be a witness for Mr. Robinson, was in prison in Mississippi.
While out on bail on the gun charge, Mr. Robinson was picked up with five other people in a van in Braddock where police found a handgun and two grams of crack cocaine.
The gun could not be linked to him and he was convicted only of possession of drugs.
Police are still investigating whether anyone else was involved in the Penn Hills shootings.
Chief Burton said there had been calls for domestic disturbances at the address in the past.
Officer Crawshaw had been with the Penn Hills force for 2 1/2 years and had previously worked for the University of Pittsburgh force. He lived with his parents in Shaler.
Counselors were sent to the Penn Hills police station for the 54 officers, described by the chief as upset and concerned about the increasing level of violence they encounter on the job.
Outside the station, Penn Hills resident Jeanne Delancey placed flowers and said, "He was executed. It's just terrible."
Earlier, police said in radio broadcasts that they were seeking a man in connection with the incident, but Chief Burton said that man had shown up at the Clairton police station, told them he was not involved and was released.
This morning, detectives at county police headquarters were examining a Jeep recovered in the hours after the shootings.
A neighbor on Johnston, Nancy Salera, 50, said she heard at least 10 shots from what sounded like a machine gun or a semi-automatic rifle.
Governor Edward G. Rendell today ordered all state flags on commonwealth facilities in the Capitol Complex and in Allegheny County to fly at half-staff in honor of Officer Crawshaw.
The last Penn Hills police officers to die in the line of duty were Sgt. William Schrott and Patrolman Bartley Connolly Jr. in 1972. The men were shot trying to apprehend an armed robber at the East Hills Shopping Center.
The victim was responding to a shooting at a home
Monday, December 07, 2009
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09341/1019010-56.stm#ixzz0YKPYzHQh
Police have made an arrest in the shooting death of a Penn Hills police officer, who died of gunshot wounds last night after responding to a home where a second man was found shot to death inside.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office identified the officer as Michael Crawshaw, 32. Allegheny County Police Supt. Charles Moffatt said the officer was gunned down, apparently with an assault rifle, as he sat in his car awaiting backup in the 200 block of Johnston Road.
Officers found the other man, Danyal Morton, 40, dead of gunshot wounds inside.
The shootings occurred just before 8:30 p.m. Mr. Morton was pronounced dead at 8:30 p.m. Officer Crawshaw died at 8:45 at UPMC Presbyterian.
Supt. Moffatt said police have arrested Ronald Robinson, 31, of Homewood. He will be charged with two counts of homicide and burglary. Other charges could be pending, Supt. Moffatt said. He agreed to come in for questioning around 4 a.m. Police had information that led them to Mr. Robinson, but they did not explain what that information was.
Police said Mr. Robinson came to the home seeking payment of $500 from Mr. Morton related to a drug deal.
Penn Hills Police Chief Howard Burton said today that Officer Crawshaw, working the 4 to midnight shift, was dispatched after a man in the Johnston Road house called police and told them there was a problem. Emergency call takers then could hear gunshots and the victim breathing.
Officer Crawshaw responded and parked his car two houses down the street. Supt. Moffatt said that Officer Crawshaw was told to remain in his patrol car and wait for backup. Shots were heard from the house, and then a suspect came out and fired at the officer through the windshield as he sat in the car.
Medical Examiner Karl E. Williams said at the press conference that the officer was shot three or four times; the fatal wound was to the head. Officials believe the weapon was an assault rifle.
Supt. Moffatt said the officer managed to fire at least one shot.
Inside the house, at least nine shots were fired. Mr. Morton was found lying in a bathroom, dead of gunshot wounds.
Allegheny County detectives and Penn Hills police were able to locate Mr. Robinson early this morning. He was wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet, and officials said they found weapons near Mr. Robinson's house.
Mr. Robinson has been arrested several times in the past, including on drug and firearms charges.
He pleaded guilty in 2005 to carrying a firearm without a license and was sentenced to 2-1/2 to 5 years in prison. He was paroled on Aug. 26, 2007, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Mr. Morton spent several years in prison on two separate burglary stints. He was incarcerated with the state from 1998 until 2002, and again from 2003 until January 2008 when he was paroled. However, he violated that parole in January of this year and was held an addtional two months.
Mr. Morton's criminal record dates back to 1991 and includes charges for fleeing or eluding, resisting arrest, recklessly endangering another person, criminal mischief and theft.
Court records indicate that on Dec. 16, 2001, city police were called to a street corner in Homewood where they found Mr. Robinson and another man, Marcus Jernigan. Mr. Jernigan, a cousin of Mr. Robinson, had been shot in the ankle.
The sidewalk was littered with .380 caliber handgun shells.
According to the police reports from the time, Mr. Robinson was suspected of throwing an object into nearby bushes. They retrieved a .380 caliber handgun with an empty clip.
Mr. Robinson's case took several years to find its way through the county courts, where he was convicted in 2005 of illegal possession of a handgun.
He was sentenced to 30 to 60 months in prison --- a sentence his lawyer, Michael Foglia, said was on the high end of the guidelines.
Mr. Foglia today said that Mr. Robinson had never been charged with shooting Mr. Jernigan and had, rather, come to his aid after he was shot by someone else.
The case took four years to reach court because Mr. Jernigan, who was to be a witness for Mr. Robinson, was in prison in Mississippi.
While out on bail on the gun charge, Mr. Robinson was picked up with five other people in a van in Braddock where police found a handgun and two grams of crack cocaine.
The gun could not be linked to him and he was convicted only of possession of drugs.
Police are still investigating whether anyone else was involved in the Penn Hills shootings.
Chief Burton said there had been calls for domestic disturbances at the address in the past.
Officer Crawshaw had been with the Penn Hills force for 2 1/2 years and had previously worked for the University of Pittsburgh force. He lived with his parents in Shaler.
Counselors were sent to the Penn Hills police station for the 54 officers, described by the chief as upset and concerned about the increasing level of violence they encounter on the job.
Outside the station, Penn Hills resident Jeanne Delancey placed flowers and said, "He was executed. It's just terrible."
Earlier, police said in radio broadcasts that they were seeking a man in connection with the incident, but Chief Burton said that man had shown up at the Clairton police station, told them he was not involved and was released.
This morning, detectives at county police headquarters were examining a Jeep recovered in the hours after the shootings.
A neighbor on Johnston, Nancy Salera, 50, said she heard at least 10 shots from what sounded like a machine gun or a semi-automatic rifle.
Governor Edward G. Rendell today ordered all state flags on commonwealth facilities in the Capitol Complex and in Allegheny County to fly at half-staff in honor of Officer Crawshaw.
The last Penn Hills police officers to die in the line of duty were Sgt. William Schrott and Patrolman Bartley Connolly Jr. in 1972. The men were shot trying to apprehend an armed robber at the East Hills Shopping Center.