Man arrested after alleged crime spree stretches from Mall at Robinson to Pittsburgh International Airport
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A man is accused of crashing his truck into JCPenney at the Mall at Robinson before setting his vehicle on fire at the airport in a bizarre crime spree on Tuesday morning.
It started when Rockey Ruffner allegedly drove his pick-up truck into the glass doors at JCPenney. He then trashed a business and dined and dashed before setting the vehicle on fire at Pittsburgh International Airport.
According to police paperwork, Ruffner drove across the mall's parking lot to JDM Structure, vandalizing everything from furniture to fire pits to tipping a portable toilet.
Sales manager Joe Zaletski says he estimates the damage to be around $5,000
"It was surprising. Trying to figure out what was he thinking when he did all of this," Zaletski said.
Police say Ruffner then proceeded to go the Eat'n Park on Steubenville Pike where employees say he skipped out on the bill and smeared feces on the bathroom wall.
Not long after Ruffner left Eat'n Park, police were called to the Uber/Lyft lot at Pittsburgh International Airport for a vehicle fire. When they got there, witnesses told them a man, later identified as Ruffner, set the truck on fire.
According to the complaint, as officers approached him, he started running and flashed a knife.
After a short chase, he eventually surrendered. Ruffner was charged separately by Robinson and Allegheny County police. He is in the Allegheny County Jail.