Pa. panhandler claimed to be state trooper

LATROBE, Pa. (AP) — Police say an unruly, drunken panhandler charged with harassing the customers of a western Pennsylvania business falsely claimed to be a state trooper, too — but was found out when he claimed to work at a nonexistent barracks.

Online court records don’t list an attorney for 51-year-old Kevin Cunningham, of Latrobe, whose listed phone number was disconnected today.

Police in Latrobe, about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh, say a store owner called Westmoreland County 911 to complain about the man harassing his customers Friday afternoon.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says the store owner was concerned because Cunningham allegedly threatened to hit him and claimed to be a trooper. The dispatcher asked the store owner where Cunningham claimed to be stationed and he said Delmont — a town several miles away with no barracks.