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2 charged with threatening students with BB gun
Thursday, September 28, 2000 By Ernie Hoffman, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
State police yesterday charged two young men with victimizing a couple of Hempfield Area High School students with an air-powered BB gun.
No shots were fired and no one was injured during the incident, which happened yesterday morning along Edna Road in Hempfield.
Jason Thompson, 19, of Adamsburg and David Kuntz, 18, of Irwin, were arrested without incident after police, with guns drawn, surrounded Thompson's home around noon.
Thompson and Kuntz were charged with reckless endangerment, simple assault, and conspiracy. The two were arraigned before Hempfield District Justice Mark Mansour and released into the custody of their parents on $10,000 bond.
Police said the incident began about 7 a.m. when a car driven by Thompson pulled alongside a vehicle driven by Charles Burke, 18, who was on his way to classes at Hempfield Area High School.
Kuntz, who was a passenger in Thompson's car, pulled his shirt up to his face and pointed a gun at Burke, who was able to pull away from Thompson and drive away, according to police.
Thompson and Kuntz then went to a school bus stop, also on Edna Road, at Placid Manor Trailer Park looking for a student, Donnie Robosky.
Mike Bennett and Kathy Smith, both 17, were among a small group of students at the bus stop. They said Robosky ran and hid when he saw the suspects' car approach.
The students said there was an ongoing dispute between the suspects and Robosky, but they would not say what it was.
Robosky managed to get on a school bus and went to school. When the students arrived, the principal was told about the incident and police were called.
Bennett said he saw that Kuntz had "a fake gun" in the car, but the students did not feel threatened or in danger. He said Kuntz did not point the gun at anybody at the bus stop.
State Trooper Jeanne Martin said officers recovered the weapon, an air-powered Gamo P23 BB, which resembles a 9 mm handgun.
Donnie Robosky's mother, Tina Robosky, was not satisfied with the police response.
"Our children aren't safe at our bus stop," she said.
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