Pa. thief now faces federal gun charge

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A prolific thief with a record that includes using a front-end loader to rip an ATM out of the ground outside a western Pennsylvania bank in 1991 now faces the possibility of 15 years to life in prison — this time for possessing a gun that police say he was shot with while struggling with a friend.

The charges against the other man, 51-year-old Gregory Sabattini of Freeport, were withdrawn because James “Junkyard” Anthony, 52, refused to testify against Sabattini at a preliminary hearing on charges stemming from the Sept. 25 shooting.

Anthony and Sabattini, who also has a long history of burglary- and theft-related convictions, told a reporter from the Valley News Dispatch in Tarentum outside the hearing last October that they were friends who didn’t want the charges pressed.

Despite that, federal authorities took over the investigation and determined that Anthony owned the .38-caliber Rossi revolver with which he was shot in the forehead. Sabattini’s attorney didn’t immediately return a call Tuesday seeking comment.