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Pennsylvania Dad Accused Of Gunning Down Teen Boy He Blamed For Daughter’s Drug Habit
Michael J. D'Biagio allegedly shot and killed 17-year-old Darren Jevcak at a pizza place the boy worked at.
A Pennsylvania man is facing murder and assault charges after allegedly fatally shooting a 17-year-old boy who he believed was responsible for his daughter's drug use.
Michael J. D'Biagio, a 41-year-old Beaver Falls resident, was arrested and charged with criminal homicide and aggravated assault after allegedly gunning down 17-year-old Darren Jevcak outside of the pizza place where the teen worked, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the New Castle News.
Officers with the New Castle Police Department responded to reports of a shooting in the restaurant's parking lot on Friday and arrived on the scene to find Jevcak lying on the ground, police confirmed in a statement issued that day. The teen was transported to the UPMC Jameson Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
D’Biagio confessed to police during questioning that he shot Jevcak “five or six times,” and said that he did so because he believed that the boy “got his daughter on drugs or coke,” the New Castle News reports, citing the criminal complaint. He told police that he’d been made aware that week of a relationship between his daughter and Jevcak, and said that his daughter had been sneaking out of their home in order to buy and smoke marijuana, and was also using cocaine with Jevcak, the complaint reportedly states.
D'Biagio said that he reached out to Jevcak on Friday afternoon, when his daughter and wife were at the mall, in order to find out where he was, and then grabbed his gun before driving to the pizza shop in New Castle, according to the complaint. Once there, he reportedly waited for Jevcak to come of the restaurant’s back door before opening fire.
“He realized he had shot Jevcak in the arm and Jevcak went down to the ground,” the complaint reads. “D’Biagio said he shot Jevcak (again) so that he could put (him) out of his misery because (he) looked to be in shock.”
D’Biagio was arrested at the scene of the shooting, where he was found with his weapon, police confirmed Friday. He was arraigned the following morning, according to the New Castle News.
