Greensburg police identify 2nd wanted suspect in strong-arm robbery

Greensburg police identified a second man they say was involved in a strong-arm robbery in the city last week.

On Tuesday, police obtained an arrest warrant for Nikolaus A. Beers, 39, of Mercer on charges of conspiracy, reckless endangerment, receiving stolen property, robbery, strangulation and theft. Police also released his photograph.

Last week, police got a warrant for a man they say was Beers’ accomplice, Jonathan Stewart Kostial, 26, of Moon, who is accused of identical offenses.

According to Det. John Swank, a Greensburg man told police he was visiting a friend at an Alexander Avenue apartment when he asked two men who were there to give him a ride home. The man got into an SUV with the men, who he didn’t know, and they headed to Autumnbrook Apartments at about 12:10 a.m. on Jan. 21.

The driver, identified by police as Beers, pulled onto Brattleboro Drive and the man in the back seat, later identified as Kostial, choked the victim and demanded his pants, according to court papers. Police said Beers pulled the man’s wallet and cell phone out of his pockets and pushed him out of the SUV.

The wallet contained the victim’s driver’s license, $40 and bank and credit cards.

Police said the Alexander Avenue resident met the two men in drug rehabilitation. Police were able to identify Kostial through a telephone number, according to court papers.

Beers is described as a tall, thin white man in his late 30s. He reportedly is balding with dark hair and has a goatee and a sleeve tattoo from his shoulder to his elbow on his right arm. Police reported he drives a white Dodge Durango.

Anyone with information on either man’s whereabouts is asked to call police at 724-834-3800.