Hastings man arrested after allegedly pulling handgun on Patton officer

David Hurst, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

Jul. 14—A Hastings man was lodged in the Cambria County Prison early Wednesday, accused of pointing a loaded .22 caliber handgun at a Patton Borough police officer.

Officer Travis Schilling said he was able to deploy his Taser stun gun before 24-year-old Austin Yannella acted further, dropping the man to the ground and enabling him to be taken into custody.

It appears to be the second time in a year that Yannella has been charged with pointing a gun at another person, court records show.

The Patton incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday after Schilling said he observed a Chevy Malibu pass through a steady red light while traveling onto Magee Avenue, the borough's main street.

In a criminal complaint, he wrote that Yannella's vehicle pulled over in a convenience store parking lot, but the man then exited his vehicle and refused to return to the car, despite commands.

He said Yannella instead "began yelling" at him to get away and started walking in another direction.

After Schilling approached him, the man "began clenching his fists and jumping up and down."

At that point, Schilling said he pulled his Taser from its holster — but Yannella instead walked around his police cruiser and pulled a black heritage from his waistband, which the officer said was pointed in his direction.

"This officer deployed my taser and released (it) and pulled my service weapon, but at this time, the defendant was lying on the ground still under the effects of the taser," he wrote.

With a bystander's help, Schilling said he took Yannella into custody and backup units arrived at the scene and took possession of the handgun.

Schilling said an inspection of Yannella's weapon showed one round was already in the firing position with its hammer back.

Police later learned Yannella is a convicted felon, prohibited from carrying a weapon, and that the gun is unregistered.

The Hastings man was also driving while his license to operate a vehicle was suspended.

Yannella faces three counts of aggravated assault, disorderly conduct and weapon charges, as well as summary offenses for vehicle-related violations.

He was placed in the Cambria County Prison after failing to post his $50,000 percentage bond.

Court records show Yannella has several past convictions for terroristic threats and property damage and is awaiting trial on three cases this year, including another charge of terroristic threats and simple assault for a November 2020 incident.

In Blair County, he pleaded guilty to the threat charges after pulling a 12-gauge shotgun on a man in Altoona.

Our goal is to create a safe and engaging place for users to connect over interests and passions. In order to improve our community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commenting

Recommended Stories

  • Sydney Airport board rejects $16.6 billion buyout proposal

    SYDNEY (Reuters) -Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd said on Thursday it would reject a A$22.26 billion ($16.6 billion) takeover proposal from a group of infrastructure funds, the biggest of a frenzy of Australian deals in reaction to record-low interest rates. The operator of Australia's largest airport said directors had unanimously concluded the proposal undervalued the airport and was not in the best interest of shareholders. If successful, it would have been one of Australia's biggest buyouts.

  • Northland prosecutors urge Kansas City police to keep sending them small drug cases

    The message came after Jackson County prosecutors asked to police to stop sending hundreds of low-level drug cases.

  • Victoria’s Secret ‘Karen’ attacks Black woman, has meltdown after she’s caught on camera

    A white woman caught on camera attacking a Black woman in Victoria’s Secret store had a full meltdown after realizing […] The post Victoria’s Secret ‘Karen’ attacks Black woman, has meltdown after she’s caught on camera appeared first on TheGrio.

  • 'Tiger King' Joe Exotic's prison sentence was just vacated by a federal appeals court

    Joe Exotic's convictions in the murder-for-hire plot were upheld, and he's expected to be resentenced at a later date.

  • Sentencing Delayed in Mollie Tibbetts Case After Bombshell New Info Emerges

    Reuters/Iowa Department of Criminal InvestigationsA man scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday to life in prison without parole for killing college student Mollie Tibbetts got a last-minute reprieve on Wednesday in light of bombshell new information pointing to other potential suspects.In May, a jury convicted Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 27, an Iowa dairy farm worker, of first-degree murder in the 2018 death of Tibbetts, a 20-year-old student at the University of Iowa. Today, Judge Joel Yates ordere

  • Florida man who vandalized Asian American family’s cars, threatened them as a squirrel sentenced

    A man who painted racial slurs on vehicles owned by an Asian American family in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., received sentences for his hate crimes this week. What he did: Kyle Christiansen, 34, spray-painted the family’s cars with the words “Die G**k Rat” and “G**k R***rd Rat” and placed nails on their driveway on July 29, 2020. Damages to the black pickup truck owned by a male family member and a gray Honda sedan owned by his sister-in-law reportedly cost more than $5,000.

  • Former Seahawks, 49ers CB Richard Sherman arrested on suspicion of 'burglary domestic violence'

    Sherman, 33, is being held without bail until he appears in front of a judge on Thursday.

  • 64-year-old man thwarts attack at Fort Worth store by spraying gasoline on suspect

    Fort Worth police say the public helped identify four people accused of spraying the victim with an unknown chemical and trying to rob him.

  • He was 86 and easygoing — until he shot his boss dead after 31 years on job

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Billy Combass and Felix Cabrera worked a combined 78 years for sugarcane farmers in Florida. Neither had plans to stop — until gunfire changed everything. Cabrera, 86, is charged with first-degree murder in the June 4 death of Combass, 67, at the Belle Glade headquarters of Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida. Cabrera quickly confessed to what the organization ...

  • Annapolis police make arrest in killing of Michelle Cummings

    Annapolis police on Wednesday announced an arrest in the homicide of Michelle Cummings, who was struck and killed by stray bullets from a nearby shooting. Angelo Harrod, 29, of Annapolis, was arrested on June 29 on an outstanding warrant. Annapolis Police Chief Ed Jackson said Harrod was wanted on a warrant after cutting off an ankle device while on home detention on unrelated charges.

  • Two Men Who Lured Real Estate Agent To Fake Showing And Killed Her Get Life In Prison

    Two men have been handed life sentences without the possibility of parole for their role in the kidnapping and murder of a real estate agent. Last June, a Minneapolis jury found Cedric Berry, 42, and Berry Davis, 42, guilty of the murder of Monique Baugh, 28, according to Minneapolis’s Fox 9. “I didn’t think I’d be convicted of this,” Davis said in court last Monday, according to Fox 9. “If y’all watching the same show as me, didn’t prove me wrong.” On New Year’s Eve of 2019, the men lured Baugh

  • Father Used Duct Tape To Restrain Sex Offender He Found Inside Daughter’s Bedroom

    A California father caught a convicted sex offender in his child’s bedroom last week then tackled and restrained him with duct tape until authorities arrived, according to police. Daniel Diaz, 39, is facing child endangerment, peeping, and prowling charges after he broke into a family’s home in Stanislaus County. Authorities said a California homeowner spotted Diaz prowling outside his home around 5 a.m. on July 6. Shortly thereafter, Diaz allegedly forced himself inside the home and the bedroom

  • Sheriff: Man kills one at gas station, is slain in shootout

    A man filling up his car at a Wisconsin gas station was shot and killed by another man on Tuesday, with the suspect fleeing the scene and dying soon after in a shootout with an undercover sheriff's investigator. Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said the initial shooting happened about 7:30 a.m. at the Pilot Travel Center in the village of Caledonia. Schmaling said a 32-year-old man approached and “viciously executed” a 22-year-old man putting gas in his car.

  • Police used sonic blast to end 'Rise of Moors' standoff

    More than a week after a tense standoff on Interstate 95, officials released more information about how the incident with a group called Rise of the Moors was resolved peacefully. SWAT teams used a sonic device called a Long Range Acoustic Device to disable the defendants to end the Wakefield standoff.

  • Los Angeles rapper Indian Red Boy killed on Instagram Live

    A rapper in the Los Angeles area was talking with a friend on Instagram Live when he was ambushed in […] The post Los Angeles rapper Indian Red Boy killed on Instagram Live appeared first on TheGrio.

  • Weapons Cache Found By Housekeeper At Hotel Overlooking Coors Field During MLB All-Star Week

    A Denver maid found a stash of multiple guns and ammunition in a hotel room near the site of the upcoming MLB All-Star game Four people were arrested after a housekeeper found more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, body armor, and 16 firearms at Maven Hotel near Coors Field, according to Denver police. The upscale hotel is footsteps from the pro baseball stadium, which is hosting the Midsummer Classic this week. Initially, police, who feared the bust was connected to a possible mass shooting at C

  • Police officer charged with murder after stepson's body is found in crawlspace

    Eric Banks Jr., 34, was arrested on charges of first- and second-degree murder as well as child abuse resulting in death.

  • NYPD hunting for suspect seen on video hurling cinder block at man's head

    The New York City Police Department is hunting for three suspects, one of whom was seen on video hurling a cinder block at a man's head last week.

  • New information jolts case in Iowa college student's slaying

    Prosecutors in May dismissed a defendant’s testimony that he was framed by two masked men for the kidnapping and killing of an Iowa college student, calling it a figment of his imagination. Jurors agreed, convicting Cristhian Bahena Rivera of first-degree murder in the July 2018 stabbing death of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts in one of the state’s most high-profile cases in years. Both witnesses are unknown to each other, yet independently identified the same suspect to authorities after Bahena Rivera testified in his own defense May 26, his lawyers revealed in seeking a new trial for the 27-year-old Mexican national who came to the U.S. illegally as a teenager.

  • 2 HPD officers ordered to pay $1M in damages to Houston man

    This stems from a controversial traffic stop in March 2017 in which a man's arrest for a traffic violation was caught on body camera video.