Police say a 19-year-old released after an earlier stabbing arrest is now the prime suspect in an East Liberty attack.
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — A 19-year-old man released on non-monetary bond after being charged in a September stabbing is now the prime suspect in a separate stabbing near Pittsburgh’s East Liberty bus station, raising questions about the decision to release him while the earlier case was pending.
Police identified Delvin Dobbins as the prime suspect in the Oct. 1 attack along the East Busway, according to reporting by WPXI. Dobbins had not been charged in the East Liberty stabbing as of the latest published update. The victim, a 20-year-old man, was taken to a hospital in critical condition after being stabbed near the bus station. Pittsburgh Regional Transit Police are leading that investigation.
The new investigation follows Dobbins’ arrest Sept. 23 after a separate confrontation in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood. Police said two men argued on a bus before getting off near the 5000 block of Penn Avenue. The dispute became physical, and authorities accused Dobbins of stabbing the other man once in the abdomen. That victim was initially listed in critical condition and was later described as serious but stable.
Officers searching for the suspect in the Garfield case found Dobbins several blocks away in the 5400 block of Baum Boulevard, authorities said. Police said he resisted arrest and became confrontational, prompting officers to deploy a Taser. Dobbins was evaluated by medics and later taken to the Allegheny County Jail. He was charged with aggravated assault in connection with that case.
WPXI later reported that District Judge Dan Butler released Dobbins on a non-monetary bond. Such a bond does not require a defendant to post money for release. Dobbins remained accused, not convicted, in the Garfield case, and his release did not resolve the charges against him. The Fifth Judicial District, which oversees magistrates in Allegheny County, declined to comment to the station about the release decision.
Pittsburgh Police Chief Jason Lando publicly questioned the outcome after police connected Dobbins to the East Liberty investigation. Speaking on local radio, Lando said he learned that the suspect from the Garfield stabbing had been released without having to post money. He expressed concern about the possibility that someone accused of a serious violent offense could be released and then be suspected in another violent incident.
The East Liberty stabbing was reported at about 5:43 p.m. Oct. 1 near the 6200 block of Ellsworth Avenue. Pittsburgh police and Pittsburgh Regional Transit police found the wounded man near the East Liberty bus station. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Authorities used a police drone during the search for a suspect, and the East Busway was temporarily restricted before reopening.
No arrest was initially announced in the East Liberty case. By the following day, however, police had identified Dobbins as their prime suspect, according to WPXI. The designation does not amount to a criminal charge or finding of guilt, and authorities had not publicly detailed what evidence led investigators to focus on him.
The station also reported that Dobbins had previously been accused in a 2024 shooting involving a South Side convenience store clerk. The available reporting does not establish the final outcome of that criminal case, and the current East Liberty investigation remains separate from both the older shooting allegation and the pending Garfield case.
Both stabbing victims survived, according to the latest published reporting. Authorities had not announced charges against Dobbins in the East Liberty attack, and no additional explanation for the earlier bond decision had been released by the Fifth Judicial District as of the latest update.
Author note: Last updated October 4, 2026.