Investigators remain quiet about their hunt for a man accused of killing a fellow armored truck guard and stealing $2.3 million, but a local fugitive tracker said on Monday he doesn't think Kenneth Konias Jr. has gone far.
"I feel like it's more likely that he's closer, and he probably only has one or two people that he's trusting," said Lt. Jack Kearney, who heads a fugitive squad out of Allegheny County Sheriff William P. Mullen's office. "It didn't seem like he was willing to go on the run by himself."
Konias probably isn't still driving the tan 2006 Ford Explorer police tied him to, or if he is, it doesn't have the same license plate, which police listed as GZW-4572, Kearney said. FBI Special Agent Robert Ambrosini said the vehicle has not been recovered.
"It's a very active investigation," Ambrosini said. "The pressure is increasing."
The FBI issued a federal arrest warrant for Konias, 22, of Dravosburg on Friday, charging him with robbery and using, carrying and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Pittsburgh police charged him with homicide, robbery and theft. Konias is accused of shooting Michael Haines, 31, of East McKeesport in the back of the head while the two were working for Garda Cash Logistics.
Police and Garda employees discovered Haines' body in the cargo area of the armored truck while it idled on 31st Street in the Strip District last Tuesday. Surveillance video showed Konias running to his Ford Explorer and speeding away. He admitted the killing in a phone call to a friend, then asked the friend to go with him, and asked about extradition laws, according to a criminal complaint.
Haines, who graduated from Robert Morris University with a communications degree, took his work at Garda to heart and looked forward to it each day, his father, Larry Haines, said.
"They always worried about the threat from the outside," said Larry Haines, 61, of Forest Hills. "They never worried about the threat from within."
Michael Haines began working part time for Garda in June and worked full time for about three months, his father said. They didn't have set partners, and Michael Haines was never fearful about work, he said. The experience has been an "emotional roller coaster," but he believes police will find Konias.
"He has to be caught sooner or later," Larry Haines said. "He can't hide forever."
Kearney said the fact that Konias remains free tells him that the man isn't talking to many people.
"Had the money just been stolen, it would be one thing, but the nature of the homicide -- it was basically an execution," Kearney said. "That's usually a type of crime that people are more willing to give information to police about, at least in respect to the apprehension of the person to get them off the street."
Garda is offering a $100,000 reward. Anyone with information on Konias is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or dial 911.
Tips are coming in from "various cities," Ambrosini said, but he declined to elaborate.
"It takes a very aware public to make a tip," he said. "We're looking at everything."
Konias attended Serra Catholic High School in McKeesport and worked as a security guard at Century III Mall in West Mifflin, investigators said. He could be carrying three guns, police said.
His mother, Renee Konias, declined comment. A "Wanted" poster featuring Konias was posted on a telephone pole outside their home, and another was across the street.
In his 28 years, Kearney said the longest successful search for a man was the six months he spent hunting Gilbert Martinez, an aide in the city controller's office who was accused of drug dealing. Deputies eventually tracked him to a motel in Meadville.
Copyright 2012 - The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
