Pittsburgh News - February 9, 2000 

Confrontation leaves one gunman critical 

By Michael Hasch 
TRIBUNE-REVIEW 

A gunman from Ohio was shot and critically wounded early Tuesday in a Mt. Washington home that city police said was filled with "all kind of neo-Nazi stuff" and several firearms. 

A resident of the home, Michael Stehle, 26, of Southern Avenue, was charged with aggravated assault in the shooting of Brian Hartzell, 24, who has addresses in Salem, Ohio, and in Oakland, police said. 

Hartzell was in extreme critical condition last night at Mercy Hospital, Uptown, where he was being treated for gunshot wounds of the head, left leg and left shoulder. 

Pittsburgh homicide Sgt. Keith Andrews said detectives have no idea why Hartzell and another armed man went to the home and held two other residents at gunpoint before Stehle opened fire. 

Officers said three to six shots were fired, but Hartzell was the only person injured. The confrontation began about 4:45 a.m. at the house that police said Stehle shares with two other men. 

"We won't accept any calls, and we have no comment for the press," said a woman who answered the telephone at Stehle's residence last night. 

A city police officer described the scene. 

"When police arrived at the house, they found all kind of neo-Nazi stuff - all kind of stuff indicating they (the residents) are white supremacists," said the officer. 

"There was a case with souvenirs, paraphernalia, neo-Nazi stuff, neo-Nazi literature, white-supremacist stuff, white-supremacist literature," the officer said. 

At least two residents of the home had handguns. Police said they also found two assault-type, semiautomatic rifles. 

Detectives last night were still trying to find the gunman who accompanied Hartzell. They said they don't know who the man is or where he lives. 

Andrews also said detectives don't know why Hartzell and the other man went to Stehle's home. 

"One of the stories we're getting is that they went there in retaliation for some type of altercation (that occurred) about a month ago," Andrews said. 

Detectives said Hartzell and the other man, pretending they needed a place to stay, went to the home where Stehle and his roommates, Robert Reichel, 27, and Joseph Foley, 28, were watching television. 

Hartzell's companion and Reichel went outside and Stehle went upstairs, leaving Foley alone with Hartzell, whom he did not know. 

Foley said Hartzell offered his hand, said: "Hi, I'm Brian," and the two men shook hands. 

But as Foley introduced himself, he said Hartzell jumped back, pulled a handgun from his jacket and ordered him to his knees in the kitchen. 

"On the floor ... Don't look at me," Hartzell told Foley, according to a police report. 

Foley told officers he asked if the gun's safety was on, and Hartzell replied: "No, I might have to use it." 

At that point, Foley said he heard Stehle run down the steps and into the living room before several shots rang out and Hartzell fell to the floor. 

About the same time, the other man apparently punched Reichel and pulled a shotgun out of his jacket. 

Reichel fled to a pay phone and called 911. He reported that two men armed with a shotgun were refusing to leave the residence. 

After the shooting, the man dropped the shotgun by the door and ran off before police arrived. 

As officers pulled up, they saw Stehle come outside, carrying a pistol. They ordered him to drop the weapon and lie on the porch, which he immediately did. 

Inside, they found Foley holding a pistol in one hand and a telephone in the other. They ordered him to drop the weapon and lie on the floor, which he immediately did. 

Police found Hartzell lying on the kitchen floor with life-threatening injuries. There was a pistol on the table. 

Foley later told officers that after the shooting, he picked up Hartzell's gun and put it on the table before running upstairs and getting his own pistol. 

Stehle was arraigned in Night Court before District Justice Nancy Longo. He was jailed in lieu of $100,000 straight bond to await a City Court hearing scheduled for Feb. 18.