Police arrest man wanted on child luring charges after SWAT situation in Garfield

PITTSBURGH — A SWAT situation that began in Garfield ended with an arrest on Saturday.

Pittsburgh police went to a house on the 100 block of South Graham Street to serve an arrest warrant for a man wanted with three different felony warrants.

The man barricaded himself inside the house and SWAT units were called for assistance at around 12:25 p.m.

Pittsburgh police said they were trying to arrest 38-year-old Caesar Marc Dechicchis.

SWAT was able to get Dechicchis to surrender peacefully.

“We used chemical munitions just to gain compliance and within a very short span of that he voluntarily surrendered,” said Commander Stephen Vinansky.

Police began pursuing Dechicchis after an investigation into a child luring case.

Officers were told of a situation where four kids were playing football outside of Pittsburgh Montessori School. Court documents say a man approached the four kids and offered them $100 to help him carry stuff into his house. The kids agreed and helped the man carry groceries and boxes into a house on South Graham Street. After they were done the man allegedly asked the kids if they would come inside his house to help him build tables for another $100. One of the kids ran home, another stayed on the back steps of the house and the two others agreed. The two children allegedly went into the basement and up a pair of steps to the first floor of the house but quickly ran away when they saw the man trying to lock the door behind them.

Court documents say a second incident occurred on Monday when the same man rode by the same children as they were playing at the park. The children ran away and the man allegedly asked them why they were afraid of him. Police were notified of the incident after one of the children called a parent to ask them to pick them up while the man was there. The parent told police he was able to look at the suspect who left the scene on a bicycle. The parent gave a description to the police.

After police were told of the existing situations they went to the house on South Graham Street. They met with the landlord and asked if they knew anyone matching the description given to them by the parent. The landlord said the description matched someone named Marc Dechicchis.

Officers ran the name Dechicchis’ name through their systems and were say they found a photo of him from the Allegheny County Jail.

The officers called a few of the children in and asked them to pick the man that had offered them money and harrassed them at the park out of a series of photos. Police say the children were put into different rooms and both picked the photo of Dechicchis.

Dechicchis faces child luring, firearm and drug charges.

He was taken to the Allegheny County Jail.

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