PITTSBURGH, PA - The Allegheny County Sheriff's Office announces the arrest of Birch Foley, 40 years of age from Butler, PA.   Foley was scheduled to appear in front of Judge Thomas Flaherty at the Allegheny County Criminal Courthouse regarding an incident which he is being charged with retail theft and prohibited offensive weapon.  Furthermore, Foley is scheduled to appear again in December on an additional case with pending charges of simple assault and strangulation.
 
Around 10:00AM, Foley had attempted to enter the Criminal Courthouse at the Grant Street entrance to attend his aforementioned scheduled hearing. After multiple attempts to pass through the magnetometer, each which alerted guards, Foley denied having any metal on his person.  Since the machine continued to alert building guards of an object on Foley, Building Guard Michael Thomas asked Foley to step aside to be manually scanned with a handheld metal detector.  When Building Guard Thomas waved the device near Foley’s ankle, it alerted him something was in or near his shoe.  Due to this alert, Thomas lifted Foley’s pant leg to reveal a fully loaded Taurus .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol.  Foley was immediately confined and the firearm was secured.  Sheriff’s deputies arrived on scene and took Foley into custody based on this finding.  After speaking with Foley, sheriff’s deputies believed he was under the influence of a substance.  Although Foley had initially denied this accusation, he eventually stated that he used Methadone and Oxycontin prior to arriving at the courthouse.
 
Sheriff’s deputies located and confiscated a PA License to Carry Firearms on Foley, which was issued by Butler County.  Judge Flaherty was notified of this incident and revoked Foley’s bond immediately. Deputies transported Foley to the Allegheny County Jail, where he was lodged due to the bond revocation. Additionally, deputies have charged Foley with possession of firearm in a court facility and disorderly conduct.
 
Sheriff Mullen would like to personally thank Building Guard Michael Thomas for his quick action and due diligence regarding this morning’s incident.
 

Birch Foley

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