Monday, February 24, 2025, 6:21AM |  34°
MENU
Advertisement
Paul Spadafora works out in 2009.
1
MORE

Charges withdrawn against Spadafora in convenience store incident

Peter Diana

Charges withdrawn against Spadafora in convenience store incident

Charges filed in April against former lightweight boxing champion Paul Spadafora stemming from an incident in which he allegedly pulled a knife on a convenience store manager in Armstrong County have been withdrawn, according to court records.

Mr. Spadafora, 40, of McKees Rocks was charged April 4 with simple assault, harassment and public drunkenness. 

Police said Mr. Spadafora was complaining that his car was broken down to the manager of a Sheetz store on Route 422 in Manor. The manager told police she could not understand what Mr. Spadafora was saying to her, and he responded by displaying a blueberry muffin in one hand and a knife in the other while yelling at her.

Advertisement

But defense attorney Phil DiLucente called the situation “a complete misunderstanding.” 

Mr. DiLucente said Mr. Spadafora did pull the knife that he carries with him, but he did so without malice and did not mean it to be a threat. 

“What he was using the knife for was to put some cream cheese on his muffin,” Mr. DiLucente said.

Several hours before the incident in Manor, police said, Mr. Spadafora was accused of assaulting a 63-year-old woman at Redstone Tavern in Crafton. Police said he put the woman in a headlock and threw her to the ground.

Advertisement

Mr. Spadafora was separately charged with simple assault and harassment from that incident, and faces a preliminary hearing Thursday before District Judge Dennis Joyce in Crafton.

Mr. DiLucente said he’s hoping all charges also will be withdrawn in that situation, but there is not “an agreement at this juncture.”

Mr. Spadafora, who was known as “The Pittsburgh Kid,” and won the International Boxing Federation lightweight title in August 1999, has had numerous brushes with the law and spent time in state prison for shooting the mother of his child in October 2003. He pleaded guilty to drunken driving in 2012.

Andrew Goldstein: agoldstein@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1352.

First Published: May 17, 2016, 9:55 p.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS (0)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
Protesters gathered at the corner of Murray and Forbes avenues to speak out against the Trump administration's policies on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in Squirrel Hill.
1
news
'We will fight back': Hundreds rally in Squirrel Hill in opposition of Trump, Musk and president's administration
York County District Attorney Timothy J. Barker reacts during a news conference regarding the shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pa. on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.
2
news
Police officer killed, gunman dead in shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York
This undated photo provided by the Denver Police Department shows Andrew Duarte who served as a Denver police officer from 2017 to 2022.
3
news
Officer killed in York hospital shootout was PennWest California graduate
The University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning
4
business
Amid funding uncertainty, Pitt pauses doctoral admissions
Penguins goaltender Joel Blomqvist stands in the crease as the New York Rangers celebrate a goal by Adam Fox in the third period during the game Sunday at PPG Paints Arena.
5
sports
Goaltending woes cost the Penguins again as they fall to rival Rangers
Paul Spadafora works out in 2009.  (Peter Diana)
Peter Diana
Advertisement
LATEST local
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story