Man accused of pointing pistol at officer, holding boy at gunpoint in Stowe Township

STOWE TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- A man is facing multiple charges after police said he pointed a pistol at an officer and held a teenage boy at gunpoint in Stowe Township. 

According to court paperwork, an Allegheny County Housing Authority officer was patrolling Pleasant Ridge Thursday evening when he saw someone he knew had been previously cited for trespassing in the area walking with two other people. Officers detained him and tried to speak with 26-year-old Donald Reese of Zelienople, who was with him at the time. 

Police said Reese refused to identify himself to the officer and when the officer told him he was going to be detained pending identification, Reese began to back away. 

When Reese turned to run, police said the officer pulled out his taser and Reese pulled out a semi-automatic pistol, pointing it directly at the officer. The officer stopped chasing Reese and called for backup. 

As Reese fled into a wooded area near Pleasant Ridge Road, police said he found a 15-year-old boy who was walking home from football practice. The victim told police he usually cuts through the woods to get home faster. He said he heard Reese approach him from behind, then Reese pointed a gun at the back of his head. 

The criminal complaint said Reese forced the boy to take him to his home so Reese could use the teenager's cell phone. Police said Reese made calls and told the boy to go pick up a change of clothes for him, but when Reese didn't like those clothes, Reese asked the boy to give him his hoodie instead. 

While this was happening, police said a sergeant could see the boy going in and out of the home's back window multiple times. The sergeant approached the teenager and then recognized Reese nearby. Reese tried to run, this time dropping the pistol, police said.

Reese was eventually taken into custody, and police learned he had a felony warrant for aggravated assault as well as a conviction of an offense in Florida that involved a weapon in 2021, making him a person not to possess a firearm. 

Reese is facing several charges, including evading arrest, recklessly endangering another person, simple assault, aggravated assault, false imprisonment of a minor, theft, robbery and a gun violation.