Harrison police arrest 3 teens suspected in car, purse thefts

Chuck Biedka | Monday, December 23, 2019 2:25 p.m.

A New Kensington-area teen is accused of throwing an unloaded gun at police as they pursued him and two other teens in connection with the theft of a purse last week in Harrison.

That didn’t stop police from arresting the teens on Dec. 17, a day after police said they arrested the same teens in connection with alleged thefts from at least a dozen parked vehicles in Harrison.

The teens, between the ages of 13 and 15, face juvenile charges in connection with the incidents. Police did not identify the teens.

Harrison police Sgt. Brian Turak said the teens stole cash and other items from unlocked vehicles parked along Melrose and Jefferson avenues, Burtner Road and Elbrook Street in Harrison early Dec. 16. The teens were returned to their homes that day, but they returned to Harrison the following day, he said.

Turak said the teens stole a purse from a woman inside the Big Lots store in Heights Plaza on Dec. 17. Police investigating the incident spotted the teens and told them to stop, but they ran away, Turak said.

During the chase, one of the teens threw an unloaded, .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun at police, Turak said. The teen who threw the gun was taken to the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood, while the other were turned over to parents, according to Turak.