Pittsburgh guard sought in heist, slaying
An armored truck guard was being sought Tuesday night for questioning in the slaying of another guard during a heist under the 31st Street Bridge in Pittsburgh's Strip District.
The missing guard, identified as Kenneth John Konias Jr., 22, of Dravosburg, may be carrying two semi-automatic handguns, Pittsburgh police Cmdr. Thomas Stangrecki said.
The dead guard was identified as Michael Haines, 31, of East McKeesport, a spokesman for the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office said.
City police Lt. Kevin Kraus said the armored truck had been robbed but would not say how much money was taken. The truck was returning to its base on 33rd Street, two blocks away.
Konias who has not been charged with a crime and Haines worked for Garda Cash Logistics, which is based in Boca Raton, Fla., and is part of Garda World Security Corp., a public company with headquarters in Montreal.
Garda personnel said the men were supposed to be returning to the 33rd Street location but Stangrecki said it appears the armored truck had been parked and idling near the intersection with Railroad Street for some time before anyone became suspicious.
Kraus said the armored truck, which was a considerable distance from its last stop, was spotted earlier in the afternoon by another Garda employee who drove past it. When that employee drove by a second time, he became concerned and called company managers.
Company personnel found Haines with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the back of the head in the cargo area of the truck about 3:40 p.m., investigators said. They were in the process of calling 911 when a city police detective happened along and summoned homicide and robbery detectives, Kraus said.
The FBI and state police later joined the investigation and hunt for Konias.
Witnesses told police that they saw a guard, believed to be Konias, walking along Railroad Street from the parked truck toward Garda headquarters.
Konias who is described as being white, about 6 feet tall, 165 pounds and balding is thought to be driving a tan Ford Explorer with a Pennsylvania license plate of GZW-4572, Stangrecki said.
The commander said police went to the Konias home on Euclid Avenue but that the missing guard was not there.
Anyone with information about Konias or the heist is asked to call 911.
"We are shocked at the news and are cooperating with the police in their investigation," said Joe Gavaghan, Garda's director of corporate communications.
Neighbors of Konias who lives with his parents Kenneth Sr. and Renee on Euclid Avenue were surprised to see a number of officers from McKeesport with guns in their hands surround his home Tuesday evening.
"When I came outside, I saw cops coming out between two houses with their guns drawn," said Breanne Holsinger, 26.
"I was shocked. They had the dad (Kenneth Konias Sr.) on the front porch, and other officers rushed into the house. They had all the streets blocked off."
There was a significant McKeesport police presence surrounding the Konias household at 409 Euclid Ave. as neighbors watched from blocks around the home.
"We were called to assist Pittsburgh police in the search for Ken Konias," McKeesport police Chief Bryan J. Washowich confirmed.
McKeesport Ambulance Rescue Service transported Kenneth Konias Sr. from their Dravosburg home to UPMC McKeesport after complaining of stress and chest pains.
Neighbors said they were not surprised to see the police at the Konias household, but rather they were shocked it was for an incident of this magnitude.
Euclid Avenue resident Brenda Baker, who has been involved in many neighbor disputes with the Konias family, said Renee Konias "calls the police on us all the time for everything."
Neighbors speculated and asked questions about whether Konias is considered a suspect or missing person in Pittsburgh's fatal armed robbery.
"His mother was just bragging about him and his car," Baker said. "She was telling my daughter he had a great job. This is insane. I would never expect this."
At least a dozen neighbors were outside talking about the Konias family.
They recalled a 2005 incident in which the Konias and Baker families were recommended for a "Loser Leaves Town" reality television challenge that focused on feuding neighbors.
The TBS program was intended to be a six-episode comedy series based on the Hatfields and McCoys in which the families would have taken part in various competitions involving yard work and other aspects of neighborhood life. The losing family literally would have left town at the show's close.
Ken and Renee Konias took legal action against then-Mayor Gerald McGrew Jr. for recommending their family.
