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A 30-year veteran Ligonier police officer awaiting trial for pointing a handgun at his ex-wife's husband and threatening to kill him last year wasn't permitted to carry a gun under state law, Westmoreland County Detectives alleged this week.
Detectives Richard Kranitz and Will Brown on Wednesday filed a criminal charge of persons not permitted to possess a firearm against former Ligonier Cpl. Edward J. Huwalt, 62, of Ligonier.
The detectives allege that Huwalt can't legally have a firearm because he was involuntarily committed to the mental health unit of Jefferson Hospital in Allegheny County for nine days in 1988 after he shot at two people.
In March, Ligonier District Judge Denise Thiel ruled there was sufficient evidence for Huwalt to stand trial on charges of simple assault, harassment, reckless endangerment and terroristic threats after a Jan. 24, 2016, incident involving Huwalt outside the Giant Eagle in Ligonier.
At the preliminary hearing, Charles Knupp of Ligonier testified that Huwalt, a veteran Ligonier policeman, threatened him while sitting in his patrol car in full uniform.
Knupp said the incident occurred about 7:50 a.m. as he dropped off his teenage stepdaughter, who worked at the store. Huwalt is the girl's father.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Pacek, who is prosecuting the case, declined comment on the new charge Thursday, saying that the evidence will be presented next month in court.
Huwalt's attorney, Charles Porter of Pittsburgh, could not be reached for comment.
In the affidavit of probable cause, Kranitz and Brown said they obtained documentation that on Aug. 17, 1988, Huwalt was working as a policeman for Upper St. Clair in Allegheny County. After an overnight shift, Huwalt drove to a home in Jefferson Hills to “discover his girlfriend and another individual in bed,” the detectives said.
“According to the police report, obtained from Jefferson Hills Borough Police, Huwalt discharged a firearm towards the two individuals,” the affidavit states.
One person suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, the detectives said.
Jefferson Hills Borough Police charged Huwalt with aggravated assault, terroristic threats and reckless endangerment offenses, and he resigned from the Upper St. Clair force that day.
“Also on Aug. 17, 1988, (then) Jefferson Hills Sgt. William Potts had Edward J. Huwalt admitted to Jefferson Hills Hospital on an involuntary commitment,” the affidavit states.
Police later dropped the criminal complaints, and there is no online record of them. However, the detectives said they got the records from police and obtained a search warrant to get Huwalt's admittance and discharge information from the hospital.
Under the state Mental Health Procedures Act of July 9, 1976, it is unlawful for a person who has been adjudicated as an incompetent or who has been involuntarily committed to a mental institution for inpatient care and treatment to possess a firearm.
Thiel has scheduled a hearing on the new charge for March 24.
During the preliminary hearing last March, Knupp, who is married to Huwalt's ex-wife, testified Huwalt pulled alongside him in the patrol vehicle.
“I said, ‘What's up?' He said, ‘I'll kill you.' … Within a few seconds I saw the handgun come up. … He pointed it at me,” Knupp testified. “Then he asked me how did that feel.”
Knupp said Huwalt called him a “pervert,” “pedophile” and other names.
Knupp said he and Huwalt were acquainted for more than 20 years but haven't gotten along since he married Huwalt's ex-wife, Tanya, in 2014. The Huwalts divorced in 2012 and have 10 children.
Huwalt had been employed with the Ligonier department for more than 30 years and was fired a day after the first complaint was filed against him in February 2016.
On Thursday, Ligonier police Chief John Berger declined comment on the new complaint filed against Huwalt. Berger was not the police chief when Huwalt was hired.
Huwalt, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, remains free on recognizance bond.
Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review reporter. Reach him at 724-850-2860 or ppeirce@tribweb.com
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