Break-in attempt at Heinz Field provokes a major police response
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Sunday's alleged break-in attempt at Heinz Field by three 20-somethings of apparent foreign descent raised suspicions among local law enforcement officials, who notified the FBI of their concerns.
Why were the men trying to scale a fence to enter a sports stadium designated by police as a piece of "critical infrastructure" in Pittsburgh?
Why did they run from officers, who arrested them at gunpoint when the men fled?
"Definitely in this one, red flags would raise, being that they are three Middle Eastern males, being that they are from three different locations," Pittsburgh police Cmdr. Scott Schubert said Monday.
But any red flags that went up seemed to have come down nearly as quickly.
The men -- Neville Medhora, 27, of Austin, Texas; Shazad Mehta, 28, of Elmhurst, Ill.; and Adil Minocherhomjee, 22, of La Jolla, Calif. -- were released the day of the incident on $5,000 unsecured bond, which they will have to pay only if they miss a preliminary hearing scheduled for Thursday.
Although police described them as Middle Eastern, the exact ethnicities of the men could not be determined.
"I wouldn't say raise the alert level," Sgt. Mona Wallace of the city police intelligence squad said. "I'm thinking these guys weren't part of anything other than a drunken wedding-type prank. But if they were of interest, we wouldn't really have anything to do with them at that point."
That would be the bailiwick of the federal government. And, Sgt. Wallace said, the FBI has not gotten back to Pittsburgh police yet.
"Once we pass it off we tend to leave it passed off until they kick it back," Sgt. Wallace said.
The men told authorities they were in town for a wedding at Heinz Field and were simply trying to retrieve a lost wallet from the stadium by scaling a fence.
Mr. Medhora was the only one who could be reached Monday by telephone. He said, "can't comment right now, things have gotten a little out of control."
The attorney for Mr. Minocherhomjee could not be reached for comment.
District Judge Richard D. Olasz Jr., who arraigned the group on charges of criminal trespass and conspiracy, said he believed that they had attended a wedding at the football stadium.
First Published May 25, 2010 12:00 am
