Allegheny Township man with record tried to buy gun at North Hills shop, police say
An arrest warrant has been issued for an Allegheny Township man accused of illegally trying to buy a gun at a shop in the North Hills.
Teige Fredrick Townsend, 24, of the 1900 block of Route 356 was charged by Northern Regional Police with a felony count of illegal sale or transfer of a firearm along with a count of making false statements to authorities.
Townsend was released on a nonmonetary bond following his April 10 arrest on the charges, according to court documents.
The arrest warrant was issued after he failed to appear for a preliminary hearing May 3 before District Judge William Wagner, according to court staff.
A Northern Regional Police officer wrote in a criminal complaint that the department was notified by the state police firearms division that Townsend tried to buy a Glock 9 mm pistol at the Big Buck Sport Shop in Marshall Township on Sept. 23, 2021.
Investigators said a criminal investigation was launched after Townsend failed to acknowledge on the form information that would prohibit him from buying the gun.
A background check found that Townsend was arrested in 2018 and 2021 and was prohibited from having a gun in his possession, the complaint said.
Townsend also failed to note that he had a mental health commitment in 2021 that would make him ineligible for gun ownership, police said.
When police contacted Townsend, he refused to talk and told the officer: “Go (expletive) yourself. I hate cops,” according to his arrest papers.
Court records show that Westmoreland County Park Police charged Townsend with a felony count of criminal mischief on Dec. 12, 2018, for an incident in Allegheny Township.
Townsend waived his right to a preliminary hearing on the charge Feb. 5, 2019, and was ordered to stand trial by a district judge, the docket shows.
Court records show Townsend was sentenced to a three-year Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program.
In June 2022, Allegheny Township police charged Townsend with a misdemeanor count of making repairs to or selling offensive weapons, according to court records.
He pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to a year of probation, court records show.
Tony LaRussa is a TribLive reporter. A Pittsburgh native, he covers crime and courts in the Alle-Kiski Valley. He can be reached at tlarussa@triblive.com.
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