Jul 31, 2019 4 min read

A Canonsburg man – whose behavior was so concerning to his neighbors that they took to sleeping in shifts to monitor him – was arrested after allegedly ordering 1,000 rounds of ammunition.

Harry Wesler III, 49, of 101 Cecil St., has been incarcerated in the Allegheny County Jail since Friday on a charge of attempted possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.

Police said Wesler had ordered 9mm ammunition on July 12, and it was inadvertently delivered to a neighbor.

“The resident wanted to turn the package over to police because he or she felt that it was a dangerous situation and ‘something bad was going to happen,'” the criminal complaint states.

Because of a prior conviction, Wesler is a felon and unable to possess firearms or ammunition.

What followed was a joint investigation involving the Canonsburg Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the office of U.S. Attorney Scott Brady.

When the ammunition delivery was reported to police, Canonsburg officers were already familiar with Wesler.

Canonsburg Sgt. Charles Tenny said numerous calls had been placed to 911 regarding threats from Wesler to harm himself.

According to the complaint, Canonsburg police had responded 14 times to his home for mental health checks, 10 of those because he had threatened to commit suicide.

The most recent threat came July 19. When police arrived at his residence, there were five large kitchen knives laid out on the table, according to the complaint.

Just a day before, Tenny had contacted Wesler concerning the ammunition order. Wesler told Tenny he had ordered the ammunition, and that he was in possession of a firearm, according to the complaint.

Nella Naccarato, the owner of the building Wesler lived in, said his behavior had her and her other tenants fearful of what he might do.

She had been in the process of evicting Wesler, who was on a month-to-month lease, from the apartment.

Wesler had lived there since May of last year. Naccarato originally gave him until the end of February to vacate.

Except instead of leaving, Wesler replaced the locks, Naccarato said.

According to Naccarato, Wesler was ordered to leave by July 31 by a judge. That hearing took place on July 8, just days before police say Wesler ordered 1,000 9mm rounds.

Naccarato described Wesler as “tormenting” her and his neighbors. She said he was frequently banging on his ceiling and making threats, and that neighbors were aware he had guns.

This led to the neighbors taking turns sleeping to keep an eye on Wesler.

“We all watched. When he made noise, they all came over to my apartment. It was a dangerous situation. I’m just glad it’s over,” Naccarato said.

That the building is located directly across from Falconi baseball fields only exacerbated their worries.

“There are kids that play at those ball fields,” Naccarato said.

Police executed a search warrant at Wesler’s apartment on Friday. According to Tenny, he had the means to utilize the ammunition he ordered.

“We’ll never know what he was planning to do,” Tenny said.

Canonsburg Mayor David Rhome said the involvement of the community is instrumental in cases such as this one, and helped lead to Wesler’s arrest.

“Where the location is, I, along with the police department, truly believe we averted a tragedy,” Rhome said.

Naccarato expressed gratitude for the work of Canonsburg Police Chief Alex Coghill, Tenny and Rhome.

“Chuck Tenny is a heck of a man,” Naccarato said.

Tenny also extended credit to the ATF, Brady and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lanni for their assistance.

According to Tenny, the matter is still an active investigation.