A McKeesport homicide suspect on the run for more than a year was arrested Wednesday in Pittsburgh’s East End, authorities said.
Vernon Eutsey, 27, had been wanted since April 2022 in connection with the death of 22-year-old Michael Gunter.
The mid-afternoon shooting stemmed from an argument inside a liquor store at the corner of Fifth and Market streets, police said at the time. Security cameras inside the store captured the argument and subsequent shooting.
A witness told police at the time that Gunter approached Eutsey inside the store and then followed him outside, according to the criminal complaint filed in the days after the April 22 shooting. The witness said the two argued and then bumped into one another before Eutsey allegedly pulled out a handgun.
Footage from elsewhere in McKeesport showed the man identified as Eutsey running onto Strawberry Way from Fifth Avenue, according to the complaint. Investigators found a sweatshirt, hat and gun in a trash bin a few blocks away.
Sheriff’s deputies received a tip that Eutsey was seen in and around Pittsburgh’s East End, and authorities tracked him to a home on Paulson Avenue, said sheriff’s office spokesman Mike Manko. He said Eutsey was taken into custody without incident.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 27.
First Published: September 13, 2023, 8:36 p.m.
Updated: September 13, 2023, 8:39 p.m.
