NORTH HUNTINGDON — Three Chicago men are being held in Westmoreland County Prison without bond on multiple felony charges filed as part of an ongoing investigation into catalytic converter thefts in three western Pennsylvania counties.
Antonio Dewayne Johnson, 36; Christian Buie, 31; and Harold T. Wade, 30, were each charged with first-degree felony counts of corrupt organizations and conspiracy to conduct racketeering, and third-degree felony counts of criminal mischief-damage to property, receiving stolen property, theft by unlawful taking-movable property, and criminal use of a communication facility.
The trio was arraigned Sunday morning before Greensburg Magisterial District Judge Chris Flanigan and are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 1 at 10 a.m. before North Huntingdon Township Magisterial District Judge Wayne B. Gongaware.
In an affidavit filed with Gongaware, North Huntingdon Township Police Detective Matthew Benick wrote that the investigation and charges involved organized criminal activity beginning on or about Nov. 30, 2022, and continuing through Saturday.
“It involves numerous catalytic converter thefts in multiple jurisdictions in Westmoreland, Allegheny and Fayette counties,” Benick wrote. “Collectively, (items stolen totaled) in excess of $200,000.”
The charges were announced in a joint news conference conducted by Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole W. Ziccarelli, as well as North Huntingdon Township and Pennsylvania State Police, and representatives of law enforcement from Allegheny County.
The briefing at North Huntingdon’s Town House regarded what authorities described as an extensive criminal enterprise that also targeted victims in Fayette County.
Benick said the information in his affidavit was provided to him directly or indirectly from state police, including Troop B, Uniontown, the Vice-Narcotics Unit and the Bureau of Emergency Services and Special Operations, and local police from Moon Township and Turtle Creek in Allegheny County and Alexandria, Fairfax County, Va.
According to the affidavit, the local crime spree began Dec. 3 when catalytic converters were stolen from several tow trucks in the Moon Township area.
It continued on Dec. 5 when 15 catalytic converters were taken from Mitsubishi Outlander Sport vehicles parked at the Jim Shorkey dealership in North Huntingdon.
Then, on Dec. 6, three men were seen in a surveillance video cutting 20 catalytic converters from Mitsubishi Outlander Sport vehicles at the Shorkey dealership in North Union Township, Fayette County.
Surveillance video determined that a car without a registration plate was involved, along with a Chevrolet Equinox with Virginia license plates, the latter of which was rented out from a Avis facility in Monroeville.
The car without plates was determined to have come from Florida, and both vehicles also were seen in the Chicago area.
The officers involved in the local investigation obtained search warrants and found Chicago area code phone numbers in use at all three crime scenes. The affidavit said two numbers belonged to Antonio Johnson.
Wade was seen in a video with Johnson, while according to the affidavit Buie was tied in because of a past association with Wade.
The alleged Chicago ring is not the only one under investigation in the region. In November, charges were filed against four people from the Blairsville, Derry and New Florence area who allegedly conspired to steal catalytic converters from vehicles in Indiana and Westmoreland counties.
However, so far, the alleged Chicago conspiracy has not extended into Indiana County.
“I have not been made aware of any connection at this time,” Indiana County District Attorney Robert F. Manzi Jr. said Tuesday. “In matters such as this, I find that the investigations tend to grow as more information is found.”
Meanwhile, Steven R. Aukerman, 27, and Debbra Lynn McAdams, 56, both of Blairsville, and Vince Lamar Skillings, 44, of Derry, each are being held in lieu of $50,000 bond apiece, while William J. Glover III, 25, of New Florence, is being held in lieu of $25,000 bond; all in Westmoreland County Prison.
Charges were filed against the quartet by state police at Troop A, Greensburg, on Jan. 12, and all face a preliminary hearing on Feb. 14 at 10 a.m. before Hempfield Township Magisterial District Judge Scott A. Fanchalsky.
Each was charged with first-degree felony counts of involvement in a corrupt organization and dealing in items procured during unlawful acts, as well as multiple third-degree felony counts involving theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief, all for a Sept. 30 incident in Hempfield Township.
