Clairton police have charged a Monroeville man with assault, saying he chased down two juveniles with his car and hit one of them last week in Clairton.
Ahmed Aziz, 60, of Monroeville was charged with four counts of aggravated assault, two counts of simple assault, reckless endangering and related traffic violations.
Police were initially dispatched April 24 to Dee’s Mini Mart on St. Clair Avenue for a report of two juveniles shoplifting. Four minutes later, they received a second call, reporting that a vehicle had struck a juvenile near the Clairton Education Center, two blocks from the convenience store.
A UPS driver who reported the second incident told police he saw two juveniles running while being pursued by a vehicle, which accelerated toward the pair, swerved toward them, and continued to pursue them onto the education center’s property, according a sworn affidavit.
The man told police that the vehicle then struck one of the juveniles, knocking him to the ground before he got up and continued to run away.
Police reviewed security footage from the education center, which police said shows the vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed, crossing into the opposite lane and swerving directly toward the two juveniles. The vehicle is maneuvered over curbs and onto sidewalks during the incident, police said.
Aziz admitted to police that he’d pursued the two juveniles in his vehicle, and when asked if he struck either of them, said “No, I tried,” while laughing, according to court documents.
Aziz denied witness statements saying he’d struck one of the two juveniles.
He posted $150,000 bail and is due in court for a May 12 preliminary hearing in Judge Armand Martin’s Clairton court.