Police link Kelley murder to Bridgeville robbery
Joe Kelley, right, hugs his wife, Rose, as they release balloons during a memorial service Thursday for his brother, Vincent Kelley, who was killed in 2013 while trying to stop a bank robbery at Citizens Bank in the South Strabane Township Giant Eagle.
Detective Ken Torboli of the South Strabane Township police department answered questions during a news conference about the 2013 killing of Vincent Kelley.
Family and friends of Vincent Kelley gather for a memorial service Thursday. Kelley was killed in 2013 while trying to stop a bank robbery at Citizens Bank in the South Strabane Township Giant Eagle.
Three years to the day Vincent “Mystro” Kelley was shot and killed as he pursued a bank robber, investigators released new information they’re hoping will lead to an arrest.
Detective Ken Torboli of South Strabane Township police department announced Thursday a possible link between Kelley’s murder and a Bridgeville robbery that took place two days prior.
The man who robbed Penn-West Gold & Diamond store in Bridgeville June 14, 2013, could be the man who robbed the Strabane Square Citizens Bank in Giant Eagle and shot Kelley, said Torboli during a media briefing at South Strabane fire department on Oak Spring Road.
Torboli described the suspects in both robberies as “a very brazen person.”
“We believe the actor may be the actor we are pursuing based on physical characteristics, the M.O. (and) the geographic location,” he said.
The Bridgeville suspect used a black umbrella during the daylight robbery, as did the suspect in the Citizens Bank robbery.
The department is working with the Pittsburgh office of the FBI and state police to solve the Father’s Day 2013 shooting. According to reports, the suspect entered the supermarket about 2:20 p.m. wearing a mask, black gloves, a floppy-brimmed straw hat with a blue band and carrying an open umbrella and handgun. The man, described as 30 to 40 years old, 5 feet, 9 inches, to 6 feet tall with a medium build, jumped over the Citizens Bank counter, showed the gun to a teller and left with a bag of money. He fled to a small to midsize, white, four-door sedan, which police now believe had a Pennsylvania registration, HZT-6978.
Torboli said the license plate is believed to be one of many stolen in the Bridgeville and Scott Township areas more than a month before the robberies. The plate has not been recovered. Torboli said it could have been disposed of or could still be in use.
Kelley, 46, who was shopping in Giant Eagle with a friend that afternoon, chased the suspect into the parking lot and struggled with him in his car. He was killed when the robber shot him several times before fleeing.
Washington Councilman Joe Manning said he and other witnesses didn’t know what happened in the immediate aftermath of the robbery. He was one of many people to follow Kelley as he pursued the robber. Manning saw Kelley follow the man into the car, then a puff of red paint as the dye pack in the bank bag exploded. Then, he heard four gunshots.
Trained as an EMT, Manning and Giant Eagle employees attempted to resuscitate Kelley to no avail.
“It was one of the most tragic things I have ever witnessed,” Manning said Thursday. “I didn’t know (Kelley), but he basically saw something wrong and tried to stop it. He must have been a very decent person to act with no regard for his safety.”
Citizens Bank and Giant Eagle offered up to a $50,000 reward for information leading to the successful prosecution of the killer.
Members of Kelley’s family were present for the update, including sister-in-law Suzanne Kelley, who asked anyone with information come forward.
“We need justice for my brother-in-law and my family,” she said.
Before the information was released, Mark Kelley described his brother, “Mystro,” as a wonderful father and grandfather who volunteered his time to help local children.
“Three years and no answers. That’s tough to take. There’s been no leads. Nobody’s talking. Everybody is ready for a little closure. It will never go away, but we’d like to have the people who did this brought to justice. We’re going to do whatever it takes to make that happen. And the fight’s never over … until we get him to justice and he pays for what he did,” the younger brother said.
“He was just an all-around nice guy. Not something you’d expect to have happen to a guy like that.”
Anyone with information is urged to call South Strabane police at 724-225-8111.