Tip led to arrest of man wanted in McKeesport shooting
Allegheny County police said Wednesday that a tip helped them capture a McKeesport man accused of shooting an officer and escaping while handcuffed.
Having avoided authorities for a week, Koby Lee Francis, 22, was found Tuesday evening in Clarksburg, W.Va., about 110 miles south of Pittsburgh. Francis was deemed “armed and dangerous” after allegedly shooting McKeesport Officer Gerasimos Athans, 32, twice in the left shoulder and once in the neck outside the McKeesport police station Dec. 20.
A task force led by the U.S. Marshals Service made the arrest, police said. Francis was taken into custody at the Oakmound Apartment Complex in Clarksburg.
He is charged in Pennsylvania with aggravated assault, attempted homicide, illegally possessing a firearm, fleeing to avoid prosecution, and escape. Francis was being held at the North Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility in Doddridge County, W.Va.
He will be extradited to Allegheny County after the new year, Allegheny County Police Lt. Venerando Costa said Wednesday. Finding Francis was a collaborative effort, he said.
“We received a tip at 10 a.m. [Tuesday], and that tip we forwarded to the U.S. Marshals office,” Lt. Costa said during a news conference at county police headquarters in Green Tree. “In Pittsburgh, we have a liaison with them. [U.S. Marshals] forwarded [the tip] to the West Virginia northern office, the Mountain State Fugitive Task Force. Then, they set up surveillance at the Oakmound Apartment Complex.”
Lt. Costa said authorities watched an apartment at the complex and determined that Francis was inside. Police then obtained a search warrant, and West Virginia State Police intervened.
“Based on our investigation, we believe Francis arrived in West Virginia on Dec. 21,” Lt. Costa said. “We coordinated with so many different agencies, and everyone involved was really good at relaying info to each other.”
Francis initially was arrested just after 4 p.m. Dec. 20 and charged with violating a protection from abuse order at two different addresses, police said. The PFA covered Francis’ child and the child’s 24- year- old mother. The order became effective Dec. 10.
During Francis’ arrest, police said they found a .380-caliber handgun on the passenger seat of a vehicle Francis was in, and they said they found no other weapon on his body in a
subsequent search.
Lt. Costa said Wednesday that police missing the gun was an “error” but offered no further details.
Officer Athans was shot as he tried to remove a handcuffed Francis from a vehicle at McKeesport police headquarters, according to a criminal complaint. Police said Francis somehow managed to move his shackled hands from behind his back to the front of his body and retrieve a hidden handgun.
Surveillance footage released by police last week shows Officer Athans opening the back passenger door of his vehicle. The officer can then be seen buckling over before retreating to the front of the car. A man identified as Francis appears to shoot at Officer Athans while fleeing with his hands still cuffed in front of him. The officer emptied his gun firing back, a criminal complaint said. Francis was not struck,
police said.
Investigators later found a .32-caliber revolver 127 feet from Officer Athan’s patrol vehicle. The revolver contained five spent cartridges.
Lt. Costa said Wednesday that authorities were “confident” Francis hid that revolver on his body and used it to shoot Officer Athans. Laboratory test results are pending.
Four people were charged Saturday with hindering the apprehension of Francis. Jasmyn HenersonBracey, Gesiah Grigsby and Daniel Neal of McKeesport, were seen in video surveillance footage at a market with Francis after the shooting, and Justine Kenyatta, of East Stroudsburg, Pa., was accused of driving him from the market.
Two days after Francis’ escape, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced rewards for information leading to Francis’ arrest.
The ATF put up $10,000, and Richard Bazzy, owner of Shults Ford in West Mifflin, offered up to $5,000 for similar information.
Police on Wednesday would not say whether the rewards had been paid out.