Ex-Police Sergeant Robert Magnifico Accused of Assault and Oppression After Sheetz Altercation

A former Ellwood City, Pennsylvania police sergeant, Robert Magnifico, has been charged by the state Attorney General’s Office with official oppression, simple assault, and other offenses following an incident at a Sheetz convenience store in June 2025. According to investigators, Magnifico responded to a dispute between a 19-year-old customer and an employee over a lost cellphone, but the situation escalated when the officer allegedly shoved the young man to the ground, acted in an intimidating manner, and threw another person’s phone that had been recording the encounter. The Attorney General’s Office also alleges that Magnifico’s written report misrepresented what actually occurred. He has since retired from the Ellwood City Police Department and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on November 18, 2025.