Man charged in Penn Township double homicide accused of trying to steal truck to flee

Paul Peirce, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
·2 min read

May 25—North Huntingdon police say the suspect in the May 16 double homicide in Penn Township tried to carjack a pickup truck to flee, according to new court documents filed Tuesday.

Victor F. Steban, 53, was arraigned on charges of vehicle theft and illegal possession of firearms in connection with his failed attempt to flee police a week ago along Route 30 at North Thompson Lane.

Steban is being held without bond in the county jail in connection with a shooting spree that culminated with the killings of Jacob Erdeljac, 41, and Mara Casale, 27, at Erdeljac's home in the Claridge section of Penn Township.

Steban also is charged with multiple counts of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and shooting into occupied residences — one in Hempfield and two in Sewickley — in connection with a shooting spree that occurred between 12:13 and 12:50 a.m. early May 16.

He also is charged with arson for setting fire to his own home at 11 p.m. May 15. Police charged him with multiple weapons violations in that case for having a cache of weapons inside the home.

According to the most recent complaints, North Huntingdon Det. Thomas Harris alleges that, when Steban was attempting to flee police on foot near the Sheetz convenience store along Route 30 at Thompson lane with a handgun in his hand "he approached an occupied" 2017 Dodge Ram pickup truck that was stopped at a traffic signal and twice instructed the two men inside to exit.

Harris said in court documents that the two occupants "told him, "No," and refused to get out of the truck.

As police inched closer to Steban, Harris said Steban decided "to walk away," west on Route 30.

Harris reported that the pickup truck's driver told him that he saw that Steban was carrying a handgun when he asked the pair to get out of the truck.

North Huntingdon and state police took Steban into custody a few minutes after the vehicle theft attempt as he continued walking westbound along the busy highway.

Harris reported that police seized a 9 mm handgun, .45 caliber handgun plus an AR-15 pistol he was carrying. It is illegal for Steban to possess any weapons because of a prior conviction for unlawful restraint.

Police have not reported a motive in the killings of Erdeljac, a Duquesne Light Co. transmission and distribution supervisor, or Casale, a Penn-Trafford graduate who worked as a barmaid and waitress at Ski's & Nick's Lounge on Route 130 in Harrison City.

Police allege Steban went to Erdeljac's home and gunned the couple down when they returned from a motorcycle ride.

Steban remains in the county jail, where he has been held since May 18 without bond.

Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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