BEAVER FALLS — A city man who was previously acquitted of a homicide is facing a new homicide charge. Tyrone Kunta Savage, 24, was charged Tuesday morning in the shooting death Friday night of 25-year-old Justin Simmons, 25, of Aliquippa at the Morado Dwellings housing complex in Beaver Falls. Beaver County Coroner David Gabauer said Simmons died of a gunshot wound to the chest. When police arrived at the scene, they were told there was a man at the PTC Alliance plant in West Mayfield. Another witness told police Savage was the shooter.
Officers went to the plant, where they found Savage out of breath as though he had been running, and he had fresh injuries to his hands and legs. His injuries were consistent with those that would occur by scaling a fence, police said. Police also found a pair of pants tossed over the fence. On Monday, police received a call from an employee at PTC who said he was cutting grass and found a handgun magazine and three .40-caliber rounds. Officers went back to the plant and reviewed security footage that showed who police believe was Savage walking near a cooling pool and tower.
The Beaver Falls dive team searched the pool and found a Springfield XD .40-caliber handgun with a round in the chamber. According to online court records, Savage was charged by Beaver Falls police Saturday with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief stemming from a May 16 incident. He was arraigned on the charges Saturday morning and was being held in the Beaver County jail, unable to post $50,000 bond at the time the homicide charge was filed. The charges in the May 16 case were refiled after the original charges were dismissed Oct.
4 when the victims failed to appear for a preliminary hearing.
In that case, police said Savage shot at a car after an argument with a man in the parking lot of Morado Dwellings. A woman who drove the victim away told police she saw Savage fire the shot. In April 2015, a jury acquitted Savage of homicide in the shooting death of Anthony Slappy Jr., 23, of Beaver Falls. Slappy was shot to death outside his grandmother s home in Beaver Falls in 2014.
After the verdict, then-Beaver County District Attorney Anthony Berosh said that despite the jury s verdict, prosecutors were convinced of Savage s guilt and had to consider the case closed.
