'Cold-Blooded' Suspect Ken Konias Admits Killing In Armored Car Heist

[Whisper]

Kenneth John Konias Jr.

PITTSBURGH -- While the killer of an armored car driver remains at large, Channel 4 Action News has confirmed through police sources that approximately $2.3 million was taken during Tuesday's Strip District heist.
Some of the stolen cash was from Rivers Casino on the North Shore, where the armored vehicle from Garda Cash Logistics made a morning pickup. The car also stopped at Home Depot in Ross Township and was scheduled to go to Kmart on McKnight Road.
Officially, Pittsburgh police will only confirm that something was taken from the vehicle, but they won't give a dollar amount.
Police and the district attorney's office are preparing a criminal complaint that will charge Ken Konias Jr., 22, of Dravosburg, with homicide and robbery. The victim was identified as his co-worker, Michael Haines,

Our belief is that he planned to rob the company, and if he had to kill the guard, he planned to do that," District Attorney Stephen Zappala said. "That's pretty cold-blooded."
Police said they believe Konias to be armed and dangerous with two semiautomatic guns and his dead partner's duty weapon, a Glock 9mm. He is described as white, 6 feet tall, with very short hair or bald. Anyone who sees him or knows where he is should call police.
Konias was originally thought to be driving a tan 2002 Ford Explorer with Pennsylvania license plate GZW-4572. But now, police say he may be driving a tan or champagne 2006 Explorer (pictured, left) with the same license plate from the older model.
"That guy -- if you're still out there, turn yourself in, man. You took a best friend, a roommate, someone that so many people love. His parents, they love him so much," roommate Joe Krsul said.
Investigators from the police bureau and the district attorney's office think Konias ditched the armored car with Haines still inside it after killing the man somewhere else.
Evidence shows that Konias called someone identified as "Witness 1" at about 1:05 p.m., and later called his mother while she was at work at about 3:45 p.m.
From the criminal complaint:
"At the time of this conversation with Kenneth Konias, Konias made statements such as, 'I (expletive) up. My life is over.' Witness #1 asked Konias if he was having a bad day at work, or did he get a girl pregnant. Konias answered, 'Worse than that'. Witness #1 then said to Konias, 'What, did you kill someone?' Witness #1 reports that Konias was silent for several seconds and then he answered, 'Yes'. Konias then stated that he was in possession of a large amount of money. Konias began begging Witness #1 to take off with him. Konias told Witness #1 that he had enough money so that he and the witness would never have to work again."
Zappala said detectives have assembled the following timeline, based on their witness interviews and surveillance video footage from cameras in the Strip.
• 1:23 p.m. -- The armored vehicle is seen in a lot below the 31st Street Bridge.

• 1:26 p.m. -- Konias is seen running toward his personal vehicle in the nearby Garda parking lot.

• 1:30 p.m. -- Konias' vehicle is seen driving away.

• Between 1:30 p.m. and 3:40 p.m. -- Konias goes to his parents' home in Dravosburg, then leaves.

• 3:40 p.m. -- Haines is found shot to death in the armored car, parked and idling in the same lot.

• Later Tuesday afternoon -- Police go to the Konias home and find a Garda jacket with possible blood on it.

• Somewhere along the way, Konias' cellphone is found near a doughnut shop on Route 51.

The possibility that Haines, 31, of East McKeesport, could have been involved in the robbery was ruled out by detectives.
"All the evidence indicates the deceased is a straight-arrow type of guy. Everything is black and white," Zappala said.
"I want Mike to be remembered more as the genuine person that he is, and not just a man that was shot in the back of a car," said longtime friend Darin DiNapoli, who began crying as he spoke. "I think that's the one thing ... I don't want him to just be a statistic, because he's a very inspirational person and a really good friend."
"He would come home from work and he was proud, he'd pump his chest out, and that's how I knew Mike," Krsul said.
Garda is offering a $100,000 reward. The company has a local office on 33rd Street, just two blocks away from the crime scene.

"We are shocked and deeply saddened at the death of our colleague and extend our condolences to his family. We are continuing to assist law enforcement in its investigation of this incident," Garda said in a statement.
City police Cmdr. Tom Stangrecki said investigators have yet to recover any of the missing money. The FBI is doing an audit.
[...]

Read more: http://www.wtae.com/news/30561837/de...#ixzz1nt559Tm1

Michael Haines

[Dakota Valkyrie]

The mother of a fugitive charged with killing a fellow armed security guard in a $2.3 million heist said Friday that the allegations against her son are out of character and she is concerned for his safety.

"We just hope every time the phone rings that it's him or that he has been found," Renee Konias said of her son, Kenneth John Konias Jr., 22.
[...]

Mrs. Konias said she struggled to reconcile her picture of her son as a popular and mild-mannered young man with the one investigators painted of him as a cold-blooded killer. The FBI on Friday issued a wanted poster describing him as a "violent fugitive" who is dangerous and believed to be armed with at least two semi-automatic pistols, including his partner's 9 mm Glock service weapon.

"That just was not Ken," she said. "He never had a problem with anybody. He didn't have a bad bone in his body. I couldn't have asked for a better kid. The stuff they are saying is crazy."

She was stunned to learn Tuesday that police were seeking her son, an only child who lived with his parents in Dravosburg, for questioning about his partner's death, especially because he had never mentioned Mr. Haines or any strife on the job, she said.
[...]

Mrs. Konias said she was at work all day Tuesday and had only spoken to her son briefly when she went to wake him before work. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to her then, nor did it later Tuesday, when police searched their home and recovered her son's uniform jacket, which they described as blood-spattered. Mr. Konias had called his mother about the time Mr. Haines' body was discovered, asking to speak to his father, but when she and a coworker tried to call him back their calls went unanswered, according to police accounts.
[...]

"It looks like he may have discussed some plans to do some type of robbery," the commander said. "He may have discussed stealing some money," Cmdr. Stangrecki added, though he would not say in whom Mr. Konias confided or when. "He had talked about coming into a windfall."
[...]

Mrs. Konias said the idea that her son would steal any amount of money was baffling because "Ken didn't need any money. He lived comfortably. He was spoiled."

His mother said she was unaware that her son was investigated by Kennedy police last month after lottery tickets went missing from a grocery store where he had made his rounds for work. After Garda employees discovered them in the back of their truck, police said Mr. Konias returned the tickets to the store, saying they had gotten stuck on the bottom of his bag. He was not charged.

Mrs. Konias said her son had a solid work ethic that included stints as a volunteer firefighter in Dravosburg and Duquesne, where officials said he was dismissed from the job. His mother said he left on his own after the pressures from his other jobs became too time-consuming. She would not divulge his work history but said it included jobs in emergency services and security, as Mr. Konias had admiration for law enforcement and had wanted to wear a badge since he was a child because "he liked to help people."

When he applied to be a security guard through Garda, he was instead offered a position as a "driver-messenger" on the armored car, which he held for about a year. Mr. Haines was employed by the company just a few months, and their partners changed from time to time, police have said.

Mr. Konias underwent "psychological tests" to wear the Garda badge and gun, his mother said. He also passed a background check, as court records showed he had only traffic and motor vehicle violations in his past. He would often work long hours for the company and help his colleagues in other ways, his mother added.

"He loved his job," she said.

Garda has offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to his capture and conviction. Mrs. Konias said she feared the reward would elicit dubious tips.

"Even his friends would turn on him for that kind of money," she said, doubtful of what police described as phone calls Mr. Konias made to friends as he fled inquiring about extradition laws in Canada and Mexico.

Police said witnesses told them Mr. Konias admitted in the phone calls to killing a man and said he had enough money never to work again. He ditched the cell phone on Route 51, where it was discovered by a passer-by.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12063/1214221-455.stm

That Kenneth Konias Jr. is accused of making off with $2 million from an armored car doesn’t surprise some of the people who knew him, but police allegations that he gunned down his co-worker inside the vehicle earlier this week does.

Konias, who has been on the run since the shooting death of his partner in a Garda Cash Logistics truck Tuesday, had an attitude about him and craved flashy cars and the trappings of wealth, a former colleague says.

The theft “wasn’t a shocker to any of us down here,’’ said Chris Bearley, the assistant fire chief in Duquesne, just outside Pittsburgh. Konias tried to join the department as a volunteer at about age 18, but was later asked to leave.

“He was your average 18-year-old, but he had an attitude about him. He had flashy cars, and he sort of had a gang-banger personality,’’ Bearley said, adding that while the theft wasn’t a surprise, the allegations of violence were.

The firefighters also wondered where Konias got the money for the Cadillac he drove.

“It was like top of the line. Tinted windows, the whole 9 yards,’’ Bearley said, adding that Konias had been “accused of theft at a lot of the Mon Valley fire departments.’’
[...]

Authorities said that in cellphone calls the day of the crime Konias told one friend he’d killed someone and tried to persuade that person to run away with him and live off the stolen money.

http://articles.boston.com/2012-03-0...ck-parking-lot

The people who live in his parents’ neighborhood in Dravosburg had plenty to say about the Konias family – off camera.

Kenneth Konias, Jr., 22, lived with his parents on Euclid Avenue.

According to court records, his parents, Kenneth, Sr., and Renee, have been involved in many lawsuits, dating back to 1995, winning several of them, including one against the former mayor of Dravosburg and the city.

In 2005, Mayor Gerald McGrue says he recommended Ken and Renee for a reality show called, “Loser Leaves Town.” It was about feuding neighbors and the loser must sell their house and move.

They were never on the show, but their neighbors say there was a lot of feuding which still continues.

The defamation of character lawsuit against the mayor and the city was settled in 2007.

Ken and Renee said the mayor breached his commitment to public office by submitting their names to the reality show.

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/...ith-neighbors/

[Whisper]

I thought for sure they wouldve found him by now either arrest him or found his body
I have a feeling hes going to kill himself out of guilt,
b/c from the second he killed his partner he seems to have regretted it
To little to late though,
mustve been a kid into gangster robbery movies and when you kill someone for real its not like a movie

[Nell]

His mother is delusional, and he sounds like the kind of only child that was ruined by too permissive parents. He killed this man for money. And i love how he has no good friends AT ALL! His own mother said that anyone that knows him will turn him in for a measly $100,000. I am a huge cunt and my friends like me better than that.

LOL on their own Mayor submitting their names for a show that makes you GTFO. They must be lovely people. I don't know how their son turned out so bad. ;)

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Still in the wind...

Investigators remain quiet about their hunt for a man accused of killing a fellow armored truck guard and stealing $2.3 million, but a local fugitive tracker said on Monday he doesn't think Kenneth Konias Jr. has gone far.

"I feel like it's more likely that he's closer, and he probably only has one or two people that he's trusting," said Lt. Jack Kearney, who heads a fugitive squad out of Allegheny County Sheriff William P. Mullen's office. "It didn't seem like he was willing to go on the run by himself."

Konias probably isn't still driving the tan 2006 Ford Explorer police tied him to, or if he is, it doesn't have the same license plate, which police listed as GZW-4572, Kearney said. FBI Special Agent Robert Ambrosini said the vehicle has not been recovered.

"It's a very active investigation," Ambrosini said. "The pressure is increasing."
[...]

Kearney said the fact that Konias remains free tells him that the man isn't talking to many people.

"Had the money just been stolen, it would be one thing, but the nature of the homicide -- it was basically an execution," Kearney said. "That's usually a type of crime that people are more willing to give information to police about, at least in respect to the apprehension of the person to get them off the street."

Garda is offering a $100,000 reward. Anyone with information on Konias is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or dial 911.

Tips are coming in from "various cities," Ambrosini said, but he declined to elaborate.

"It takes a very aware public to make a tip," he said. "We're looking at everything."
[...]

His mother, Renee Konias, declined comment. A "Wanted" poster featuring Konias was posted on a telephone pole outside their home, and another was across the street.

In his 28 years, Kearney said the longest successful search for a man was the six months he spent hunting Gilbert Martinez, an aide in the city controller's office who was accused of drug dealing. Deputies eventually tracked him to a motel in Meadville.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/dail.../s_785023.html

[Whisper]

Money From Deadly Armored Car Heist Found At Grandmother's Grave
FBI Puts Ken Konias Jr. On Facebook, Twitter After $2 Million Strip District Job

PITTSBURGH -- Approximately $250,000 of the money stolen in last week's armored car heist in the Strip District was found at the home of Ken Konias Jr.'s parents in Dravosburg on Wednesday, and about $24,000 was recovered at the grave of Konias' grandmother, police sources told Channel 4 Action News.
Konias, 22, remains at large after last week's $2.3 million robbery and fatal shooting in the Strip District. A task force of Pittsburgh and state police, county sheriff's deputies and FBI agents is trying to find him.
"We feel that we are making progress," Pittsburgh police Cmdr. Tom Stangrecki said on Wednesday afternoon, adding that other police departments across the country have been notified.

Stangrecki said they came up empty when they checked out a tip that someone fitting Konias' description
was seen in a red vehicle at Waterworks Mall on Wednesday.
While he said "some" of the stolen cash has been recovered, Stangrecki refused to give a specific dollar amount. He sidestepped a question about the report that some of it was found in the cemetery.
It appears that Konias didn't cross any borders or take any flights out of the country, according to Stangrecki, but police haven't been able to find his 2006 Ford Explorer yet.
"We believe that he still is in the country," Stangrecki said. "He needs to be taken off the street. He is armed with several handguns and is dangerous."
"Here's a person we believe killed his partner, took $2.3 million and now he's on the run. That is a recipe for something very dangerous," FBI Special Agent Robert Ambrosini said on Tuesday

More than 600 users have already downloaded Konias' wanted poster from the FBI's Facebook page and the bureau also plans to spotlight the case on Twitter.
"It's the first time we've used social media to forward a case, and that's really the goal there -- to move the ball forward," said Ambrosini.
[...\]

http://www.wtae.com/news/30619984/de...#ixzz1oY0ZhU00

[Ninja0980]

I could see him ending up on the Top Ten list before all is said and done if he's not caught soon. Sounds like a cold blooded killer who was coddled by his parents even when he was let go for jobs for being dishonest etc.

[Whisper]

'America's Most Wanted' To Profile Search For Armored Car Heist Suspect
Ken Konias Jr., 22, Accused Of Killing Partner, Stealing $2.3 Million In Strip District

PITTSBURGH -- "America's Most Wanted" will profile the national search for Ken Konias Jr., who remains at large after a fatal shooting and $2.3 million robbery of an armored car in the Strip District.
Pittsburgh Police Detectives Peg Sherwood and J.R. Smith, FBI Special Agent Scott Argiro and Ross Police Detective Brian Kohlhepp will be featured on the show, which airs Friday at 9 p.m. on Lifetime.
A task force of Pittsburgh and state police, county sheriff's deputies and FBI agents is trying to find Konias, 22, who has not been seen since Feb. 28, when co-worker Michael Haines, 31, was found shot to death inside a Garda Cash Logistics armored car that was abandoned under the 31st Street Bridge.
[....]

http://www.wtae.com/news/30685982/de...#ixzz1pDYP7YQ1

[bindtorturekill]

This guy
I really had hope they would have caught him by now. He also killed an armored car driver, just shot him several times, he could have just seen if the guy would have given the money up, but no he just shot the hell out of him, he didn't even try to wound him. This scum bag is an only child, spoiled rotten by both his parent's here in AZ. They are probably helping him under the radar while this guy is off partying off the grid somewhere. He's been on the FBI's top ten most wanted for years now. Check -Click--->here<---

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Having already plastered Mr. Konias' face on billboards along the East Coast and released wanted posters through the Federal Bureau of Investigation, four members of the task force charged with finding the federal fugitive -- Detective Sherwood, Pittsburgh homicide Detective J.R. Smith, Ross Detective Brian Kohlhepp and FBI special agent Scott Argiro -- traveled to Washington, D.C., this week to tape last night's brief segment on "America's Most Wanted."

Detective Sherwood conducted the interviews for the show, telling viewers that Mr. Konias had been planning the theft "for some time," and hypothesizing that he might have "snapped" the day Mr. Haines was killed out of fear that he could lose his job after stolen lottery tickets were found in the back of a Garda armored truck.

She also said that Mr. Konias might have hidden bisexual tendencies from his close friends and family and might frequent strip clubs and gay clubs.

In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Friday, Detective Sherwood said Mr. Konias relied heavily upon his parents.

Police recovered more than $250,000 of the stolen loot from the home Mr. Konias shared with his parents, and about $25,000 that a relative discovered near his great-grandmother's gravesite in Munhall. Police suspect he stashed the money there shortly after the deadly heist and has not returned to his home since.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...uspect-467301/

[Ninja0980]

In the past week I've read a story about a mother who took a bullet for her son,the mother who lost her legs protecting her kids from a tornado etc. So it's not a surprise that his mother (especially since he's an only child) appears to be willing to risk it all for her son. Not the first parent to do so and she won't be the last.
Just a pity that she's unwilling to put herself in the shoes of Mike's mom,who will never see her child again.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

In Dravosburg, everyone has a theory about how Ken Konias has evaded capture.

“I think that somebody has helped him all along,” Carol Adams said. “It’s hard to believe you by yourself could get away with all that.”

Or where he might be.

“If I would take guess, I’d say Mexico or Miami or somewhere south,” Ryan Wilds said.

Investigators are still hopeful he’s close by.

“He’s definitely connected to his mother and to this area,” Pittsburgh Police Det. Peg Sherwood said. “Doesn’t have a lot of history with travel, so I’d like to believe he’s still in this area.”

Sherwood confirmed that Konias is bisexual and has trolled internet sites, search engines and alternative newspapers looking for men. But detectives still believe that Konias acted alone.
[...]

But investigators are looking at the possibility Konias may have committed suicide out of remorse and fear of capture.

“We’ve also considered whether he took his own life because of what he did and got himself involved in, but then again we don’t know that he did that,” Sherwood said.

But if Konias is alive and on the run, it may be because he has $2 million at his disposal and that he always wanted to be a police officer, taking police exams and studying police procedure and now managing to stay at least one step ahead.

Konias may have resources of $2 million, but the local police and the FBI have resources of their own, and they believe in time this mystery will be solved.

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/...-heist-murder/

[CbabyRKO]

His parents are helping him. No doubt about it in my opinion. Mom doesn't want to believe her little angel is a monster so she'll do anything she can to protect him even if he is guilty. I don't think I could do the same. I wouldn't turn my son in but I sure wouldn't be helping him evade capture. Hopefully they find him dead or a live becoz to take a life for a mere 2 mil is atrocious and cold hearted. He could have just tased his partner and tied him up in the back of the truck and he still would have had a head start and wouldn't be facing murder charges as well. I'm thinking the murder was a part of his little fantasy that he was playing out and when he did it he realized how truly fucked he is. Sure they would look for him regardless for taking the money but now they have even more reason to hunt this guy down.

[Whisper]

PITTSBURGH -- As Ken Konias Jr. remains at large, police are sharing a new picture of him, hoping that someone will recognize the 22-year-old Dravosburg man who's suspected of killing his partner on an armored car job and stealing millions of dollars
[...]
Read more: http://www.wtae.com/news/30803536/de...#ixzz1qd6EEjoX

[Whisper]

Suspect In Deadly Armored Car Heist Caught
Ken Konias Jr. Arrested In Florida

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. -- Ken Konias Jr., who remained at large for nearly two months after a fatal shooting and $2.3 million robbery of an armored car in the Strip District, was taken into police custody early Tuesday morning in Florida.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office said Konias, 22, was arrested at a house on SW Eighth Street in Pompano Beach. He made a brief appearance in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, where he waived all potential hearings in Florida and asked to be sent back to Pennsylvania as soon as possible.
Konias remains in federal custody without bond, pending extradition to Pittsburgh

Attorney Charles LoPresti told Channel 4 Action News that Konias' parents in Dravosburg were informed by the FBI around 6 a.m. that their son had been captured. LoPresti said Konias' parents are relieved and anxious to see their son.
[...]

http://www.wtae.com/news/30946109/de...#ixzz1sydKa8cN

Ken Konias Jr.

[Whisper]

The Broward County Sheriff's Office said Ken Konias was arrested at a home on SW Eighth Street in Pompano Beach, Fla.

Read more: http://www.wtae.com/news/30946109/de...#ixzz1sygcOrtm

[VXIII]

I am glad he is aught but with that amount of money, why didnt he leave the country? He could have afforded to begin an entire new low profile life in europe or somewhere, grow his hair, change his appearance drastically....

[CbabyRKO]

I am glad he is aught but with that amount of money, why didnt he leave the country? He could have afforded to begin an entire new low profile life in europe or somewhere, grow his hair, change his appearance drastically....

My guess? Coz he's a mama's boy and couldn't leave his family behind and they couldn't follow cos ya know that would be rather suspicious so he decided to hide in plain sight.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Konias hid in rundown home with stripper

In the two weeks before his arrest, Kenneth Konias Jr. rented a bedroom in a small house on a rundown street here, lavishing a woman he met over the Internet with cash that she used to buy clothing and jewelry and dropping sly hints about a stolen fortune.
[...]

According to Leon Flowers, who has lived at the house at 603 SW Eighth St. for the past 21/2 years, Mr. Konias was quiet and kept to himself, arriving only with a black duffel bag. He paid the $500 monthly rent for his room in cash when he arrived at the house two weeks ago, said Mr. Flowers, who also rents space in the house.

When police arrived at the house at 12:05 a.m. Tuesday, Mr. Flowers said they banged on the door "real loud" and shouted that "if everyone didn't leave the house, they'd send dogs in."

Mr. Flowers, his two children and another female housemate who declined to identify herself, stood for 21/2 hours outside while police cleared all of Mr. Konias' possessions out of the room.

Police on Tuesday allowed reporters to view the room where Mr. Konias lived for the last few weeks.

It contained a bed piled high with dingy sheets, blankets and stuffed animals. Inside a trash can was an empty pack of Newport cigarettes and a half-empty bottle of Richard's Wild Irish Rose whiskey. An odor of smoke lingered and a cigarette butt remained in a dusty ash tray.

Mr. Konias briefly shared a room with a young woman who went by the name Summer, whom he met on the Internet, said Shewona Flowers, Leon Flowers' mother, who also occasionally stays at the four-bedroom house.
[...]

She said he always kept two guns stuffed in his waistband, one on each hip bone. He talked about plans to hang around for about a month and then move to Jamaica.

He rarely left the house. He had Domino's pizza and Chinese food delivered to the house frequently.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...friend-632982/

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Konias claims it was self defense! It was his own big mouth that led to the tip that found him.

Kenneth Konias Jr. told federal investigators in Florida that he shot his fellow armored car guard in self-defense when his partner refused to go along with a plan to rob their employer of millions of dollars, a source close to the investigation said Wednesday.

Mr. Konias said he fatally shot Michael Haines, with whom he operated an armored truck for Garda Cash Logistics, after Mr. Haines brandished his own weapon to stop him from taking the money, the source said. Mr. Konias told investigators he kicked the gun out of Mr. Haines' grip and then fired his own company-issued Glock duty weapon to protect himself.

Sources said Mr. Konias' confession, given to FBI agents after his Tuesday capture at a ramshackle house in Pompano Beach, Fla., is self-serving and does not match with physical evidence. It does not explain why Mr. Haines, 31, of East Mc-Keesport, was shot once in the back of the head inside the cargo area of the Garda truck, which fellow employees found idling under the 31st Street Bridge in the Strip District on Feb. 28.
[...]

Prosecutors have not decided whether to try Mr. Konias federally or in state court. He is charged with homicide, theft and robbery and also federal violations of the Hobbs Act for robbery affecting interstate commerce and using a firearm in a crime of violence.
[...]

Police offered few new glimpses into Mr. Konias' lifestyle on Wednesday, but Lt. Herrmann said he was likely living under an alias and using a fake ID. He told a housemate he gave a Jamaican man money in an unsuccessful effort to get a phony passport so he could flee the country.

Police believe he spent much of the stolen loot on prostitutes, whom he lavished with clothing, food and alcohol. Police were investigating whether he bought them drugs and whether he had a fledgling drug habit of his own. They were also looking into whether those close to Mr. Konias stole tens of thousands of dollars from him or if he gave the money freely.

Lt. Herrmann said Mr. Konias' associates likely knew he got his money illegally, but police want to know to what extent they were aware of his crimes.

Police believe he drove to Florida in a champagne-colored Ford Explorer that he abandoned, relying instead on transportation from at least one cab driver whom he befriended. Mr. Konias rented a room in a similar boarding house before moving to his final hideout, police said.

His days on the lam became numbered after he argued with a prostitute, who told her male friend that Mr. Konias had shared with her the details of his crimes. The man called Pittsburgh homicide detectives without the woman's knowledge to reveal Mr. Konias' whereabouts.

The tipster, whom police would not name, has asked about the $100,000 reward money that Garda offered for information leading to Mr. Konias' capture, conviction and recovery of the stolen money. Garda spokesman Joe Gavaghan said "we're very early in the process" of deciding how to award the money, which won't likely happen until the case is adjudicated.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...illing-633054/

[Whisper]

Pa. guard due in court in killing, $2.3M heist
May 17, 2012

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- An armored car guard charged with killing his partner and making off with more than $2 million is back in the Pittsburgh area to face charges.

A U.S. Marshals spokeswoman says Kenneth Konias Jr. has arrived from a facility in Oklahoma City. Court records say he's scheduled to appear Thursday afternoon before a Pittsburgh federal magistrate.

The Dravosburg man was arrested April 24 in Pompano Beach, Fla. after nearly two months on the run. Authorities say he killed fellow guard Michael Haines and disappeared with $2.3 million.

[...]
About $1.4 million of the missing money has been recovered.

http://www.wgme.com/template/inews_w...wgme.com.shtml

[Whisper]

Testimony reveals where money went after fatal Strip District armored car heist

PITTSBURGH -
The armored car guard accused of killing his partner in their vehicle and stealing more than $2 million in the Strip District went before a judge on homicide and robbery charges Friday.
Testimony at the preliminary hearing for 22-year-old Ken Konias Jr. was given by an FBI agent who interviewed him and took his account of Michael Haines' death, and by a Pittsburgh police detective who described the crime scene inside the Garda Cash Logistics vehicle.

The FBI recounted what Konias said happened with the stolen money.

The largest sum was about $700,000 and $800,000 given to a cab driver who tried to get him to flee to Haiti and arrange for a house once he got there, the FBI said. A prostitute also fled with $92,000.

FBI Special Agent Gerald Starkey recounted Konias' version of how he killed Haines, saying that Konias claimed to be attacked first and described a violent struggle. Pittsburgh police Detective James Smith testified that there was no sign of a struggle in the armored vehicle.

"It's very difficult for me to say that it's self-defense before we get a chance to look at the evidence," defense attorney Charles LoPresti said. "Just because someone says it's self-defense doesn't necessarily mean that it fits within the parameters of self-defense."

Konias' parents declined to comment as they left the Municipal Courts building after District Judge Mary Murray ordered their son to stand trial on his charges.

Konias is being held without bail while he waits for a trial date. The Dravosburg man was captured April 24 in Pompano Beach, Fla., nearly two months after Haines was found shot in an armored car parked under the 31st Street Bridge.

At least $1.1 million of the missing money was recovered in Florida, along with nearly $300,000 in Pennsylvania. Investigators said they're trying to find the rest of the money.

Prosecutors have not decided if they will seek the death penalty for Konias. Deputy District Attorney Mark Tranquilli said, "This is probably the most important decision that your district attorney makes, and Mr. Zappala takes that responsibility very, very seriously.
[...]

http://www.wtae.com/news/local/alleg...#ixzz1xE5Yql9Z

[Dakota Valkyrie]

The Allegheny County district attorney said Tuesday he will not pursue the death penalty against a 22-year-old charged with killing his fellow armored car driver and making off with $2.3 million in cash.

If convicted of first-degree murder for killing Michael Haines in February, Kenneth Konias Jr. of Dravosburg would have been eligible for the death penalty. But District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. announced he would not pursue a capital case, in large part because Mr. Haines' family said it did not want to endure the lengthy process of a capital case.

"We discussed at length as a family and with Mr. Zappala's office the ramifications of a death penalty trial," the family said in a statement. "Our desires were voiced in favor of avoiding the extensive trial period involved in such a pursuit, and diminishing the degree of prolonged stress on our family."
[...]

Mr. Zappala's spokesman Mike Manko said the family's wishes weighed heavily in the decision to not seek the death penalty for Mr. Konias. Mr. Manko said Mr. Zappala also conducted an "extensive review" of the case, but declined to provide further details.

But in an interview shortly after Mr. Konias' arrest, Mr. Zappala said it would be best for everyone involved to expedite the case.

"I have to talk to the Haines family, and they have to understand what the death penalty entails," Mr. Zappala said. "I think the community is better served by this guy disappearing as quickly as he can."

Attorneys said that taking the death penalty off the table often signals a plea agreement is in the works, though it was unclear if this was the case for Mr. Konias. He would spend the rest of his life in prison if he pleaded to first- or second-degree murder. Mr. Konias' attorney, Charles LoPresti, could not be reached for comment.
[...]

Indeed, capital cases pose many more challenges for families than do non-death penalty cases. In capital cases, in addition to a trial, there is a special penalty phase, in which family members have the opportunity to testify about how the loss of their loved one has impacted them. The case is often rehashed.

Those on death row get automatic appeals to the state Supreme Court and occasionally appeal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Even when the family is no longer called to testify in hearings, media coverage of a case's developments can resurrect their grief. For a family already traumatized by loss, it can sometimes be a burden too much to bear.

"There's no closure," said defense attorney James Ecker, who has represented clients facing the death penalty. "We have people sitting on [death row] for 20 or 30 years. It goes on and on and on."
[...]

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...cution-644148/

[CbabyRKO]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — An armored car guard charged with killing his partner and fleeing with more than $2 million will stand trial early next year in western Pennsylvania.

The Allegheny County district attorney's office says the case against 22-year-old Kenneth Konias Jr. will be heard starting Jan. 7.

Thursday's announcement comes about two weeks after the district attorney said he would not seek the death penalty in the case.

Authorities say Konias fatally shot his partner, Michael Haines, before stealing $2.3 million from the Garda Cash Logistics vehicle in Pittsburgh in February.

Konias spent about two months on the lam before he was arrested in Florida. At least $1.1 million of the missing cash was recovered there, along with nearly $300,000 in Pennsylvania.

http://http://news.yahoo.com/january...105750946.html