Charleroi man arrested after turning himself in at mini mart
A Charleroi man turned himself in, along with a pistol police say he stole, at a convenience store after allegedly shooting at a residence.
Val Smith Jr., 18, allegedly shot a bedroom window at 105.5 Lookout Ave. in Charleroi just after midnight Monday.
Two juveniles were in the bedroom when the bullet went through the window and lodged in the wall, according to the affidavit of probable cause. Cody Roberts and Christina Wichert were also in the room, police said.
Witnesses told police Smith was not allowed at the residence “because he is nothing but trouble,” the affidavit said. The suspect allegedly became upset and told Wichert he would be back “with his tool.”
Police found that a pistol belonging to Smith’s stepfather was missing. Smith allegedly told police he got the Taurus .380-calliber semi-automatic pistol after he was “jumped” by two men at the Lookout Avenue residence.
Smith told police he did not think the bullet he allegedly shot hit the house. He said he fled to a friend’s house.
“He then went out to the trails and fired off the rest of the bullets in the gun,” Charleroi Detective Chad Zelinsky wrote in the affidavit.
He went to sleep at his friend’s house, and then went to the Cougar Mini-Mart where he allegedly gave the gun to an employee and asked her to call the police so he could turn himself in. Police arrested him at the mini mart just before 2 p.m.
Smith was charged with theft, receiving stolen property, discharging a firearm into an occupied structure and three counts of reckless endangerment.
He was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Larry W. Hopkins and lodged in Washington County Prison in lieu of a $100,000 bond.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled tentatively for 1 p.m. April 14 before Hopkins.