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Two men arrested for robbing nine people with a BB gun in Oakland Sunday night | TribLIVE.com
Allegheny

Two men arrested for robbing nine people with a BB gun in Oakland Sunday night

Margaret Harding
Margaret Harding | Monday, October 1, 2012 10:12 a.m

Two men wielding a BB pistol robbed 10 people during an hourlong spree in Oakland, Pittsburgh police say.

Police charged Derrick Bragg, 42, and Keith Williams, 24, both of Oakland, with robbery and other crimes in connection with the Sunday night holdups.

The spree began about 9:15 p.m. with a robbery in front of an apartment on Bayard Street, and in the course of an hour the two are believed to have robbed two people nearby on Craig Street, then a group of four at an ATM at Centre and Melwood avenues and three others in the area before a police canine caught one and officers caught the other, police said.

Pittsburgh police Officer Kevin Merkel and his canine partner spotted Bragg walking into his apartment on Melwood just before 10:30 p.m. and called for him to stop, according to a criminal complaint.

Bragg ran and dropped what looked like a black pistol before the dog caught him, the complaint said. Police arrested Williams at the apartment and brought the victims to identify Williams and Bragg as the suspects. Police found the BB gun, which had a “remarkable similarity to an actual firearm,” the complaint said.

Bragg was taken to UPMC Presbyterian in Oakland for treatment of dog bites, and police took Williams to the Allegheny County Jail.

Margaret Harding is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-380-8519 or mharding@tribweb.com.

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