Unionist arrested after shooting and barricade incident | Local news

A Union Township man is in the Lawrence County Jail accused of shooting a man who was walking his dog and subsequently got into a standoff with police.

Union Township police, with assistance from other agencies, surrounded the Crestwood Drive home of 59-year-old Mark A. Reno and eventually arrested him in connection with the shooting, which was reported around 10 p.m. on August 11.

The man with the dog told police he was walking along Brentwood Drive near Burns Street when a man later identified as Reno yelled at him, saying his dog was dangerous and there were children in the neighborhood, according to a criminal complaint.

The man said the dog was on a leash. He said he told Reno his dog was just a puppy and wouldn't bite anyone. Reno told him he was going to shoot the dog, the report said. As the man walked back to his house, he was startled when he heard four or five gunshots behind him, he said. While walking, he called 911, he told police.

Reno reportedly locked himself in his bedroom and Union Township officers, assisted by Neshannock Township and state police, set up a perimeter around his home. A Union Township officer attempted to reach him by cellphone and get him to leave, but he was unresponsive. A state trooper verbally ordered him to leave the house and Reno threatened a “shootout” and told police to “get ready,” the complaint states.

Union Township Police Chief Mark Julian said the standoff lasted about 30 minutes before Reno emerged from his home unarmed.

He allegedly resisted arrest, the report says, and told police that there were other people in the house and that they would shoot them, the complaint says.

When police cleared the interior of the house, they discovered the bedroom where Reno had barricaded himself and found several shell casings and gun cases. Four 9-millimeter shell casings were found outside Reno's garage, the report said.

The indictment states that he threatened the police officers that he would kill them all if he were released from prison.

On the way to the police station, Reno allegedly hit his head against the cage inside the car and said there were explosives in his house, according to the report.

Police later executed a search warrant at Reno's home and confiscated a 9-millimeter Taurus pistol with one round in the barrel and a half-empty magazine, as well as ammunition matching the shell casings found in Reno's driveway. Police also seized seven other shotguns, rifles and a second pistol. Police also found a safe with several rounds of ammunition, the complaint states.

Reno is accused of aggravated assault, eight counts of terroristic threats, one count each of recklessly endangering another person and resisting state authority.

He was arraigned before District Judge Jennifer L. Nicholson and remanded to the Lawrence County Jail on a $250,000 fine.

Reno is also wanted on an Erie County warrant for his arrest, where he faces additional charges of aggravated and simple assault, reckless endangerment of another person, terroristic threats and harassment, crimes that date back to 2021, according to court records.

He had waived his right to a preliminary hearing on those charges and was held in the Erie County Jail until he posted bail and failed to appear in court. He will be turned over to Erie County authorities following the conclusion of his trial in Lawrence County on the new charges, court information said.

Suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty or convicted by a judge.