Two armed robbery suspects who eluded a manhunt in Indiana Township on Wednesday — including a former Tarentum man — were apprehended just before noon Thursday after they bought new clothes at the Target store in Harmar.

“They bought clothes and changed in the dressing room but left their old clothes behind,” township police Sgt. Tim Michael said. “Some of the employees got a funny feeling it might be something, so they called 911.”

Michael identified the suspects as Daniel Merico Jr., 29 and Danny Ray Pietroboni Jr., 38, both of Donora, Washington County.

Police say Merico once lived in Tarentum and once was employed by the pallet recycling company that they allegedly robbed.

The suspects were taken into custody at about 11:40 a.m. Thursday at a bus stop outside the department store.

Township police were among about 20 departments that searched for the suspects the previous night after they allegedly robbed Largent’s Recycling on Route 910 at gunpoint at around 5:30 p.m.

Police later learned that the suspects’ guns were toy guns, one recently bought by Pietroboni at the Belle Vernon Walmart.

The suspects got away in a blue minivan with an undisclosed amount of money, police said. Police twice chased the Ford Windstar but called off both because the minivan was racing through traffic and blowing through intersections.

The men ditched the van and ran into the woods near Indiana Township’s Rich Hill neighborhood. The manhunt included state police helicopters and Allegheny County sheriff’s search dogs and lasted into the night before being called off because of darkness.

Residents on Wednesday night were instructed to lock themselves inside their homes.

According to his arrest papers, Pietroboni told police the two made it to a hotel in Harmar and stayed the night. They walked to a GetGo convenience store the next day and then went to the Target where they bought clothes.

Police say they were aided in the investigation because the minivan was not stolen and they got the license plate number. That led them to suspect Pietroboni, in a way his arrest papers don’t specify.

They also have surveillance footage from the pallet shop that allowed police to get a better description, despite the fact that both suspects covered their faces with bandanas.

Police said Pietroboni confessed to the crimes and Merico “was not denying being there but just didn’t want to talk about it incase he incriminates himself.”

Merico and Pietroboni are both charged with robbery and related charges, carrying a gun without a license, and recklessly endangering another person. Pietroboni also is charged with fleeing police.

Tawnya Panizzi and Chuck Biedka are Tribune-Review staff writers. Reach Panizzi at 412-782-2121, ext. 2, tpanizzi@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tawnyatrib. Reach Biedka at 724-226-4711, cbiedka@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Chuck_Biedka.

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