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Anonymous donor pays off layaways

EVERETT (AP) — An anonymous donor has paid off all the items on layaway at a Pennsylvania Walmart, giving 200 families a holiday gift.

WJAC-TV reports that staff members at the Everett store say this is the second year in a row that the anonymous donor has made such a gift.

Store veteran Barbara Kearns says she’s never seen generosity and humility on this scale before.

The Walmart staff has been making calls to families with the news, letting them know their Christmas gifts on layaway are paid off.

Nobody knows who the secret donor is, not even the Walmart staff. They just call him “Santa B.”

In total, the staff says the donor paid a total of $40,000.

Police: Man crushed trying to steal wheels

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Police say a man was apparently crushed to death while trying to steal wheels from a van in Pittsburgh.

Public Safety spokeswoman Sonya Toler says officers were called to the Homewood neighborhood just before 9 a.m. Tuesday and found the man dead.

Investigators believe he was trying to steal the wheels off a van when the vehicle fell on him.

The man hasn’t been identified. No further information was immediately available.

2 face charges in store employee slaying

PALMER (AP) — Prosecutors say two men are facing criminal homicide charges in the death of a Verizon store employee that authorities say was linked to armed robberies of cellphone stores.

The Northampton County district attorney and other officials announced charges Tuesday against 27-year-old Gregory Lewis Jr. and 27-year-old Vaughn Felix.

The charges stem from the November 2016 death of 25-year-old Michael Davis outside his home. Weeks earlier, the store where he worked had been robbed.

District Attorney John Morganelli said the two apparently planned to kidnap Davis for another robbery but ended up shooting him. Lewis and Felix are already jailed on charges stemming from the armed robberies.

Lewis’ attorney, James Brose, and Felix’s lawyer, Brian Monahan, declined comment on the new charges, but Monahan vowed “a vigorous defense” for his client.

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