Koby Francis, Accused Suspect In Capturing Of McKeesport Police Officer, Taken Into Custody In West Virginia – CBS Pittsburgh

By: Jennifer Borrasso from KDKA-TV

CLARKSBURG, W. VA. (KDKA) – Koby Francis, the 22-year-old accused of shooting McKeesport police officer Jerry Athans, has been detained in West Virginia.

(Courtesy Allegheny County Police)

(Photo credit: WV Regional Jail Authority)

He was detained Tuesday in an apartment complex in Clarksburg by federal marshals and will remain in the North Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility until extradited back to Pennsylvania for charges, Allegheny County Police Department said. An arrest warrant has been issued for Francis for murder, escape, escape, escape from concern, aggravated assault, and firearms violations.

It is not clear who lived in the apartment and how Francis got there.

“We could check if Francis was in this place. We’re on site with a SWAT team just before six tonight, ”Harrison County Sheriff Robert Matheny said Tuesday.

“It was almost instantaneous. When the SWAT team arrived at the apartment, they were taken into custody within seconds, ”he added.

KDKA’s Jennifer Borrasso spoke to Francis’ mother on the phone and said she was relieved that her son was fine.

The situation began just before 3 p.m. on December 20, when an abuse order was served on Francis at McKeesport Police Station.

According to the criminal complaint, police were called to Harrison Village shortly afterwards, where “Francis was trying to get his toddler from a relative who was babysitting.”

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Francis left before the police arrived.

Then, just before 4 p.m. on December 20, the police were called to Yester Square again, this time for an ongoing PFA violation. When officers arrived at the scene, they said they saw Francis sitting in front of a house in his Ford Escape.

He was arrested. Once in Officer Athans’ police car, investigators say Francis was combative. The criminal complaint reported that he tried to throw out one of the vehicle’s windows.

Police at McKeesport Police Station say Officer Athans went to the passenger side to get Francis out of the vehicle. But then the shots rang out. Police say Francis was able to stretch his handcuffed hands in front of him.

(Source: Allegheny County Police / McKeesport Police)

Officer Athans initially suffered a gunshot wound in the neck. Then he circled for cover in front of the vehicle. The criminal complaint states: “Francis kept shooting Officer Athans and hit him twice more in the left shoulder.” Police say Officer Athans returned fire when Francis ran away.

Officer Athans has since been released from the hospital

“I’m glad it was resolved without further incident,” said Matheny. “And our thoughts and prayers from West Virginia are with the officer involved, and we understand that he is out of the hospital and recovering. We are very happy about that. “

Two people accused of obstructing the arrest of Francis went to court on Tuesday. Daniel Neal and Justine Kenyatta presented themselves at around 11 a.m.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, in collaboration with the Allegheny County Police Department, offered a reward of up to $ 10,000 for information leading to Francis’ whereabouts.

KDKA tried to speak to the McKeesport police chief but was unavailable on Tuesday. The department posted a statement on Facebook saying:

The McKeesport City Police Department would like to thank all agencies that supported our department on the evening of December 20, 2020. We would also like to thank the agencies who continued to work until Koby Francis was arrested on December 29, 2020.