Woman, Young Daughter Robbed At Gunpoint At Car Wash
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A Scottdale man faces several charges, accused of robbing a woman at a Westmoreland County car wash.
Bonnie Wilson says she and her 12-year-old daughter know they could have been hurt seriously by a man who robbed her for $70 at the Diamond Street Car Wash in Mt. Pleasant Wednesday night.
"Once it sunk in and she realized what could have happened, she's taking it bad," Wilson says of her daughter.
Wilson says she returned to the car wash to look for a pack of cigarettes she had lost there earlier.
But while they were there, the suspect, identified as 35-year-old Michael Pilato, approached her and asked to borrow some money. When she refused, Pilato allegedly hit her in the face.
As she tried to escape, he jumped into the back seat.
"He's like, 'If you're not going to give me the money, I'm going to take it from you,'" said Wilson. "And that's when he pulled out the gun and I actually said to him, 'You're going to kill me in front of my kid?'"
With Pilato riding in the back seat, Wilson said she tried to go to the Mount Pleasant Police Department. But when Pilato realized where she was going, authorities say he threatened to use the gun.
"That's when he cocked back the gun, and he's like, 'I'm serious, bullets are going to start flying.' And when he said that I noticed he had the gun kind of pointed toward my daughter," Wilson said.
At that time, Wilson stopped the car, got out, and tossed $70 across the street. Pilato got out to retrieve the money, and that's when she drove away.
Wilson says she knows the suspect; in fact, her friend told police where to find him.
"Just hope it's worth sitting in jail for $70. I hope he stays there," Wilson said.
When police questioned Pilato, authorities say he asked officers why he would rob someone for just $70? Turns out, investigators never mentioned to him how much money the suspect got away with.
Pilato is being held in the Westmoreland County Jail on robbery and simple assault charges.
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