PITTSBURGH (AP) - A man wanted on charges he stole more than $2 million from an armored car he was paid to guard in Pittsburgh, murdering his partner in the process, was arrested Tuesday morning in Florida, an attorney and a federal prosecutor said.
U.S. Attorney David Hickton of Pittsburgh told The Associated Press that 22-year-old Kenneth Konias Jr. had been arrested in Pompano Beach, Fla.
KDKA-TV, which first reported the arrest, cited unnamed police sources as saying that Konias had been found at a crack house. Hickton and Konias' attorney, Charles LoPresti, could not immediately provide details of his arrest.
Konias' parents, Kenneth Sr. and Renee, were briefed about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday by local law enforcement officials that their son was now in FBI custody somewhere in Florida, LoPresti said, but they weren't given any further information.
"I can tell you that the parents are both relieved that he's now in custody, that the search is over for him, and they want the wheels of justice to turn fairly," he said. LoPresti and Konias' parents had made a public appeal for him to surrender on Pittsburgh TV news stations on March 21.
"They're very relieved that nobody, including their own son, is in danger now that the search is done," LoPresti said.
FBI officials in Pittsburgh and Florida did not immediately comment.
Konias allegedly fatally shot fellow Garda Cash Logistics guard Michael Haines before fleeing with money from the truck they were guarding on Feb. 28 in Pittsburgh, and is charged with criminal homicide, theft by unlawful taking and robbery. Authorities have said they recovered about $275,000 left behind, including about $250,000 stashed under a car at the Dravosburg home he shared with his parents and about $24,000 found a day earlier at the grave of a family member.
Officials say Konias called friends and family after the killing, and asked one person about extradition laws in Canada and Mexico.
A Pittsburgh Fugitive Task Force member told the AP on condition of anonymity that the search for Konias was complicated by the fact that the stolen money was untraceable and in smaller denominations, mostly $20 bills and below. The money was shrink-wrapped and, despite the fact that about $2.3 million is believed stolen, it could likely fit in a container about the size of a foot locker. The source spoke anonymously because those details had not been publicly released by investigators.
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