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Allegheny County Police released this photo of a bike found along Montour Trail near where a stabbing victim was found on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. Police are looking for the owner of the bicycle.
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Police make arrest after LCE agent stabbed, killed along Montour Trail in Moon

Allegheny County Police

Police make arrest after LCE agent stabbed, killed along Montour Trail in Moon

Allegheny County Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the fatal stabbing of a Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Control Enforcement agent on the Montour Trail in Moon Monday.

Anthony Quesen, 25, has been charged with criminal homicide and is being held in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting a preliminary hearing, according to court documents. According to the criminal complaint, the suspect is homeless.

Moon Township Police received calls at 2:52 p.m. for a man not breathing on the Montour Trail, according to the criminal complaint.

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Upon arrival, police found bystanders giving aid to the victim, Benjamin Brallier, 44, of Kennedy. Paramedics transported the victim to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after, according to the complaint.

The sign for Allegheny County District Judge Xander Orenstein is seen outside their office in Lawrenceville.
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Legislators call for impeachment of Allegheny County judge after fatal Montour Trail stabbing

Officers went to the hospital to investigate, finding stab wounds to the victim’s upper back, chest and left hand, the complaint said. Mr. Brallier’s wife told police that he was an active LCE agent with the state police, which Allegheny County Police confirmed Tuesday.

“The Pennsylvania State Police is heartbroken to confirm the tragic loss of one of our own, dedicated Liquor Enforcement Officer Benjamin Brallier, who was fatally stabbed while off-duty yesterday,” said Col Christopher Paris, PSP commissioner, in a statement. “With over 20 years of service, he was an exemplary officer and a devoted father and husband.”

The victim’s wife also told police that he would run on the trail often but did not own a bike. Mr. Brallier was found at the scene next to a yellow bike and a bag, according to the complaint.

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His wife told police that, according to a mobile app, she believed her husband was running on the trail around 2:45 p.m.

The crime scene had a trail of blood leading to the yellow bicycle and a multicolored bag, according to the complaint. Police dumped the contents of the bag, thinking it was the victim’s, but found identification for Anthony Quesen.

Contacting Mr. Quesen’s mother, police were able to confirm that the bicycle belonged to the suspect, the complaint said. Around 8:30 p.m., officers further searched the bag, authorized by a warrant, uncovering Mr. Quesen’s identification and other items.

Just after 10 p.m., officers located the suspect at the entrance of the Montour Woods Conservation Area, less than a mile away from the scene, according to the complaint. The suspect had cuts on his hands and blood on his pants and socks.

Mr. Quesen told police, without being asked, that a man stabbed him on the trail and took his bag, the complaint said. He was transported to the hospital for his injuries.

Early Tuesday, officers obtained a search warrant for the suspect’s clothes and Mr. Quesen was transported to the Allegheny County Police’s headquarters, according to the complaint. The suspect requested a lawyer when police attempted to interview him, the complaint said.

According to a Tuesday press release from the Republican Committee of Allegheny County, the suspect also goes by the name Antonia Kaseim.

Under this name, the suspect is currently wanted on an active bench warrant for felony robbery, simple assault, reckless endangerment, evading arrest and criminal mischief, according to court documents. 

Allegheny County Republican Chairman and County Councilman-at-Large Sam DeMarco said in the release that the suspect was facing the charges after attacking an individual in Point State Park last year. He is now calling for District Judge Xander Orenstein, who ordered nonmonetary bail for the defendant after the 2023 incident, to be removed or resign.

“We have long feared that Judge Orenstein’s reckless pattern of letting dangerous suspects back on the street would cost a life,” Mr. DeMarco said in the release. “Now, it has. And Xander Orenstein must be removed from the bench before the public loses all faith in the justice system.”

Court documents in the city case do not mention the name Anthony Quesen. But the defendant’s date of birth in that case matches the one for the suspect in the Moon case.

 


First Published: October 22, 2024, 2:24 a.m.
Updated: October 23, 2024, 2:21 p.m.

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Allegheny County Police released this photo of a bike found along Montour Trail near where a stabbing victim was found on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. Police are looking for the owner of the bicycle.  (Allegheny County Police)
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