Slain Penn Hills man’s mother hopes for arrest

The mother of a 48- yearold man who was shot to death this week in Penn Hills said Tuesday that she hopes police find her son’s killer.

No arrests have been made in the early Monday killing of Curtiss Eugene Meeks Jr., of Pittsburgh, who was fatally shot about 2: 10 a. m. in the 1200 block of Blackadore Avenue.

Mr. Meeks was found lying in the road beside a vehicle that was blocking the street, according to Allegheny County police, who are investigating.

He was an electrician who grew up in Wisconsin and lived in Detroit before moving to Pittsburgh, his mother, Marlene Meeks, 72, of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., said Tuesday. He loved motorcycles and working on cars, she said.

County police Inspector Andrew Schurman said Monday that Mr. Meeks was a member of a motorcycle club but said that police have not identified a motive in the shooting and do not have evidence that he was targeted by members of a rival motorcycle club.

Ms. Meeks also has a hard time believing her son was targeted because of his club membership, she said.

“I met a lot of his bikers, not often enough to know their names, but they were all nice,” she said. “We had gone to a lot of the clubs where they all get together, and it seemed to be very peaceful.”

She never worried about her son’s safety, she said, because he was always careful to keep himself out of trouble and away from violence.

“Actually, I am wondering if they got even the right person or if they were just shooting,” she said, adding she’d never known her son to carry a gun, although it was possible he’d begun to do so in the years since he moved out of her house at age 17.

He was a quiet kid, she said, a Boy Scout who played sports through high school. They spoke for the last time about a week ago, she said.

“He was always happy, and he’d say, ‘ I love you, Mom,’” she said.

Now, as she figures out funeral arrangements, Ms. Meeks is hoping police make an arrest in her son’s death.

“I hope they find out who did it,” she said. “You know, there is so much violence going around, and they just go shooting people.”