A Creekside woman wanted by police in connection with a gun theft that ended with the discovery of a gun in a student’s backpack at school is now in custody.
On Friday, State Police announced that 23-year-old Riley Jayne Merlo was wanted in connection with an incident on September 17th, where an 11-year-old student at St. Bernard School unknowingly brought a Ruger LCR .38 Special to school with him in his backpack. Police determined that there were no threats made and the student was cooperative with the investigation. It was later revealed the gun was stolen from the student’s guardian. Police said yesterday that Merlo, a member of the student’s family, took the gun from the student’s guardian’s car on September 14th, then hid it in the student’s backpack two days later.
Troopers now say that Merlo was taken into custody without incident Friday afternoon at a location in Indiana County that was not released by state police. She was arraigned at district judge Susanne Steffee’s court and was remanded to Indiana County Jail with bail set at $5,000. A preliminary hearing is set for November 5th
