Former Pittsburgh mayoral candidate Tony Moreno accused of threatening man with shotgun

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Former Pittsburgh mayoral candidate Tony Moreno is facing charges for allegedly threatening a man with a shotgun.

The alleged incident happened Monday near the 2021 Republican mayoral candidate's home in Brighton Heights.

According to a criminal complaint, the man told police he was removing dogs from a property he owns on McClure Avenue when Moreno allegedly came out armed with a firearm.

Moreno told police that he thought the man was under investigation for animal cruelty and was not allowed to remove the dogs.

Police said a search warrant had been carried out at the property on Saturday and 10 to 15 dogs were found living in "extremely unsanitary" conditions. Officers decided to remove only the puppies and leave the adult dogs because there weren't enough resources to care for them all.  

The victim told police he was removing two of the dogs on Monday because a local shelter told him there was room for them. 

Moreno admitted to officers that he did have a shotgun and threatened to shoot the victim's tires out if he left with the dogs but he denied pointing the gun at the man. Police explained to Moreno that the victim wasn't facing formal charges at the time. 

Moreno's preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 30. He is facing assault and harassment charges.