Monessen man, 72, charged in gun case

A 72-year-old Monessen man was jailed after allegedly firing a stolen gun Tuesday night outside his residence to scare off another man.

Police said William “Shag” Carter of McMahon Avenue claimed he was being harassed by an unidentified man around 8 p.m.

In response, he allegedly retrieved a .38 Special revolver from his bedroom, confronted the man and fired one round into the ground.

He told police his goal was to have the person leave his property.

By the time officers Ryan Clark and Pat Schmidt arrived, the man had already fled. Police said no one was injured.

Police said Carter agreed to show them where he kept the gun. The officers took the firearm from beneath Carter's mattress before placing him under arrest.

Clark said he and Schmidt ran the serial number on the gun and learned it had been reported stolen from a Rostraver resident in May 2013.

Carter was arraigned Wednesday morning by Magisterial District Judge Joseph Dalfonso in Monessen on charges of person not to possess firearms, receiving stolen property and reckless endangerment.

He remained in the Westmoreland County Prison in Hempfield as of Wednesday night in lieu of $2,500 bond.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled Aug. 28 before Dalfonso.

Rick Bruni Jr. is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at rbruni@tribweb.com.