New Castle (KDKA) - Police are investigating after a man was found fatally shot in the head in New Castle.
Officials say gunfire erupted outside a building on West Terrace Avenue just before noon on Saturday.
Police say the victim, Arthur Cheeks, 23, was apparently shot while sitting in his vehicle.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Lawrence County Coroner says the victim was shot at least once in the head.
Anyone with information is asked to contact New Castle City Police at 724-656-3588.
http://kdka.com/topstories/New.Castle.Lawrence.2.386645.html
Police: Crack Addicts Purchased Guns For N.Y. Street Gang
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Pa. -- Police said two Lawrence County crack addicts are among six people charged in connection with an allegedly illegal gun purchase ring that provided local firearms to a Buffalo, N.Y., street gang.
A spokesman for the state attorney general's office said the two bought at least 18 guns from Lawrence and Mercer county stores in 2004 and 2005.
"The prosecution is the first in recent memory by our office targeting an organized ring of illegal gun purchasers," said Nils Frederiksen, a spokesman for Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett.
Five suspects were already in custody, including two straw purchasers and three alleged gang members from Buffalo. A sixth person, a juvenile from Buffalo, was still at large Thursday, Frederiksen said.
Some of the guns have been recovered by police in New Castle and in Buffalo.
Edward Lewis Wilkie, the alleged leader of the ring, is a member of the "Fruit Belt Posse," a Buffalo gang that operated in a neighborhood with streets such Peach Street, Mulberry Street and Orange Street.
Wilkie, 31, is already serving a federal prison sentence for drug crimes, Frederiksen said. He was charged by state prosecutors with participating in a corrupt organization, illegally selling or transferring a firearm, and related crimes including money laundering.
Pennsylvania authorities said police in Buffalo seized one gun, a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol, after it was used in a crime on Jan. 30, 2004. That gun was purchased from a Pennsylvania gun dealer five days earlier by Louis J. Glorioso, 51, of New Castle, authorities said.
The gun dealer declined comment Thursday, but it was his tip that led to the investigation, authorities said in court documents.
The dealer was suspicious when guns were paid for in cash, using small bills, and because Glorioso and another straw purchaser were often accompanied by other people, including a man who once used a camera phone to take pictures of various guns for sale at the store, according to court papers.
Glorioso and another alleged straw purchaser, JoEllen Piccirillo, 50, of New Castle, both testified before a grand jury. Glorioso bought a total of 13 semiautomatic handguns from three Pennsylvania dealers, and Piccirillo bought four semiautomatic handguns from one dealer and an AR-15 assault rifle from another, authorities found.
They were arraigned weeks ago on one count each of illegal sale or transfer of a firearm, Frederiksen said.
A telephone message left at Glorioso's address was not immediately returned. The Associated Press could not immediately locate a phone number for Piccirillo.
After Wilkie was sent to federal prison, Chanel "Pomp" Pompey, 22, allegedly took over the Fruit Belt Posse. Pompey was sent to a New York state prison and, after that, a former Buffalo resident, Donnell Johnson, 22, of New Castle, allegedly took over, Frederiksen said.
Wilkie, Pompey and Johnson face identical charges. Johnson who was arrested Tuesday and remained in the Lawrence County Jail unable to post $20,000 bond on Thursday.
Officials said one juvenile remains at large.
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/10483044/detail.html
A spokesman for the state attorney general's office said the two bought at least 18 guns from Lawrence and Mercer county stores in 2004 and 2005.
"The prosecution is the first in recent memory by our office targeting an organized ring of illegal gun purchasers," said Nils Frederiksen, a spokesman for Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett.
Five suspects were already in custody, including two straw purchasers and three alleged gang members from Buffalo. A sixth person, a juvenile from Buffalo, was still at large Thursday, Frederiksen said.
Some of the guns have been recovered by police in New Castle and in Buffalo.
Edward Lewis Wilkie, the alleged leader of the ring, is a member of the "Fruit Belt Posse," a Buffalo gang that operated in a neighborhood with streets such Peach Street, Mulberry Street and Orange Street.
Wilkie, 31, is already serving a federal prison sentence for drug crimes, Frederiksen said. He was charged by state prosecutors with participating in a corrupt organization, illegally selling or transferring a firearm, and related crimes including money laundering.
Pennsylvania authorities said police in Buffalo seized one gun, a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol, after it was used in a crime on Jan. 30, 2004. That gun was purchased from a Pennsylvania gun dealer five days earlier by Louis J. Glorioso, 51, of New Castle, authorities said.
The gun dealer declined comment Thursday, but it was his tip that led to the investigation, authorities said in court documents.
The dealer was suspicious when guns were paid for in cash, using small bills, and because Glorioso and another straw purchaser were often accompanied by other people, including a man who once used a camera phone to take pictures of various guns for sale at the store, according to court papers.
Glorioso and another alleged straw purchaser, JoEllen Piccirillo, 50, of New Castle, both testified before a grand jury. Glorioso bought a total of 13 semiautomatic handguns from three Pennsylvania dealers, and Piccirillo bought four semiautomatic handguns from one dealer and an AR-15 assault rifle from another, authorities found.
They were arraigned weeks ago on one count each of illegal sale or transfer of a firearm, Frederiksen said.
A telephone message left at Glorioso's address was not immediately returned. The Associated Press could not immediately locate a phone number for Piccirillo.
After Wilkie was sent to federal prison, Chanel "Pomp" Pompey, 22, allegedly took over the Fruit Belt Posse. Pompey was sent to a New York state prison and, after that, a former Buffalo resident, Donnell Johnson, 22, of New Castle, allegedly took over, Frederiksen said.
Wilkie, Pompey and Johnson face identical charges. Johnson who was arrested Tuesday and remained in the Lawrence County Jail unable to post $20,000 bond on Thursday.
Officials said one juvenile remains at large.
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/10483044/detail.html
