News Nearby: Dormont Dogs Reopens After Co-Owner's Arrest for Bank Robberies

Pittsburgh police arrested a Dormont restaurant owner in connection with two local bank robberies.

Captain Barnes, 37, of Dormont, was taken into custody Wednesday and charged with robbing the PNC Bank branch on Brookline Boulevard on Monday, Feb. 13. Barnes is the co-owner of Dormont Dogs.

He also will be charged with robbing the Citizens Bank branch located at the Giant Eagle in Pittsburgh's South Side neighborhood Wednesday morning.

According to a report by the Pittsburgh police, Barnes walked into the PNC Bank in Brookline around 10:50 a.m. Monday, told a teller he was armed with a gun and demanded $10,000 in cash. After the teller gave him an undisclosed amount, he told the teller not to call the police, and that he had planted a bomb in the bank. He then fled on foot.

On Wednesday morning around 10:45 a.m., Barnes walked into the Citizens Bank branch in the South Side Giant Eagle and demanded cash from two tellers. According to the police report, he threatened to harm the tellers if they did not comply. As Barnes was leaving the bank, he was stopped by a Giant Eagle store manager, store employee and another customer, and held until police arrived.

'I love them'

According to a WPXI television report Wednesday evening, police obtained a search warrant after Barnes was arrested and found money in a cooler at Dormont Dogs. The money could be connected to a bank robbery on Monday at the PNC Bank branch on Banksville Road, according to WPXI's report. Barnes has not been charged in connection with that robbery.

"I just want my wife and kids to know I love them," Barnes told WPXI news cameras.

Barnes is charged with five counts of robbery and is being held in the Allegheny County jail awaiting arraignment Wednesday night.

A day before his arrest, Barnes and his wife, co-owners of Dormont Dogs, were featured in a Valentine's Day story on the Dormont-Brookline Patch.

Dormont Dogs reopens

Just two days after the arrest, Dormont Dogs reopened its doors.

It was business as usual Friday morning, as co-owner Rachel Dudley and a small staff prepared the counter and food for the day and began serving customers.

Three customers visited the shop within the first 15 minutes of its 11 a.m. opening, one with a list of orders for her co-workers.

Although Dudley said she wasn’t ready to talk to the press, she did say that the shop will be open during normal business hours.

Dormont Dogs is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. More information can be found on our listings page.