Attorney General Dave Sunday announced on Friday that a former Lawrence County police officer has been charged with assault, official oppression and related offenses regarding a June incident at a Sheetz store.
Robert Magnifico, then a sergeant with the Ellwood City Police Department, pushed a 19-year-old man, denied the man of his rights, then filed a report about the incident that was not an accurate version of what took place.
Magnifico is charged with misdemeanor counts of simple assault, official oppression, tampering with public records, and unsworn falsification to authorities. (He retired last month.)
On June 6, 2025, Magnifico was dispatched to the store when the 19-year-old customer became engaged in a dispute with Sheetz staff over a phone he forgot while in the store. An employee would not return the phone to the man, and police were called to the store.
Magnifico shoved the man to the ground, threw his phone on a table, and snatched and threw a phone of the man’s friend as he recorded the encounter.
“The encounter, which was captured on video, shows a sworn officer engaged in abusive and intimidating behavior that is clearly out of bounds, and, in fact, a series of criminal acts,” Attorney General Sunday said. “Pennsylvanians should feel confident they can depend on law enforcement officers to protect them, and this one officer’s actions threaten that sense of security.”
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18.
Ellwood City Borough Council will vote to accept the resignation of police officer Robert Magnifico during a special meeting Monday.