An Ambridge man has been charged with robbing the Aliquippa Food Mart at gunpoint. Police say 19-year-old Harlan Snipes and an unidentified man threatened a store clerk with a pistol, then fled the store with $500  on February 17. Snipes returned to the Aliquippa Food Mart on February 20, wearing the same ski mask and hooded sweatshirt from the robbery. Aliquippa police have charged Snipes with robbery and other crimes.

A New Brighton man was arraigned on Wednesday after he had been accused of firing shots at a house on Division Avenue in Ellwood City. Ellwood City police say that the shooter – 27-year-old Justin Bryant – was arguing with a married couple outside their home when he pulled out a handgun and fired five shots at the house. Bryant had reportedly been dating the couple’s daughter and lived at the residence at the time of the incident. Police charged Bryant with aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and other charges.

Union members employed by Pittsburgh specialty steelmaker Allegheny Technologies Inc. have agreed to a four-year contract that ends a six-month lockout at 12 facilities in six states, including the plant in Midland. The United Steelworkers union announced last night that its members approved the deal by a 5-1 margin. The deal affects 2,200 workers. The National Labor Relations Board, which had filed an unfair labor practices complaint against ATI, must still approve the deal.

Former Aliquippa High School and Seton Hall University basketball player Herb Pope is heading to trial in connection with a Sewickley bank robbery last month. According to a criminal complaint filed by Allegheny County Police, on Feb. 12, the 27-year-old Pope of Aliquippa was one of two men who went into the Sewickley Savings Bank on Broad Street, jumped the counter, and took more than $3,500. Both were armed with handguns. Pope was arrested Feb. 17 and remains in the Allegheny County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. He is charged with robbery, conspiracy, reckless endangerment and a firearms violation. At a preliminary hearing held Tuesday before Magisterial District Judge Robert Ford, Pope was held for court on all charges.

Authorities have filed more charges against a former Connellsville police officer who allegedly had sexual contact with a teenage girl. The new charges against Ryan Reese involve alleged sexual assaults on two women he had arrested.

Pittsburgh’s move to decriminalize marijuana possession has been stalled, with lawyers working out legal conflicts. State law makes possession of small amounts of pot a misdemeanor. For now, officials tell the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review police in the city have been told to keep filing misdemeanor charges.