Pittsburgh man charged after body found in Hanover Township
A Pittsburgh man was charged in the death of a man whose body was found in Hanover Township Thursday.
Kristopher Michael Lott, 22, was charged Friday in the murder of 21-year-old Ryan Ramirez of Kennedy Township. Ramirez’s body was found with a gunshot wound to the head on state game lands along Steubenville Pike, according to Washington County Coroner Tim Warco.
Lott, who has a criminal record dating to 2013 for robbery, theft and drugs, was already in Allegheny County jail as of Tuesday on drug and theft charges, according to online court records. He now faces charges of homicide, kidnapping, robbery, illegal possession of a firearm, unlawful restraint and abuse of a corpse.
Ramirez allegedly met Lott Monday afternoon to sell the suspect prescription pain pills, Allegheny County police said, but he instead forced Ramirez to drive to an ATM to withdraw cash and drove to the isolated wooded area.
Ramirez’s mother, Shari, said she received a text from her son’s phone Tuesday morning after suspecting him missing Monday.
Shari Ramirez said her son was dating Lauren O’Conner, who was with Lott at the time of his Tuesday drug arrest in which officers found syringes and a .32-caliber handgun in O’Conner’s possession, police said.
O’Conner is not charged in connection with Ramirez’s death but faces drug possession and other charges.