PITTSBURGH — The state attorney general says a Pittsburgh-area man is wanted on hundreds of theft-, forgery- and identify-theft charges for using fake driver's licenses to return shoplifted items to obtain at least $70,000 in gift cards from Lowe's and Home Depot home improvement stores throughout Pennsylvania.

Authorities announced the charges Wednesday against 38-year-old Jason Novak of Swissvale and say he remains a fugitive.

According to a criminal complaint, Novak would go into the stores and fill up a shopping cart with expensive items like range hoods, carpets and sinks, and take them directly to a customer service desk for refunds.

MCKEESPORT — A woman is suing a former Pittsburgh-area police officer who resigned and pleaded guilty to criminal charges for copying her house key and entering her home without ever explaining why he did it.Tammy Means on Wednesday sued 36-year-old Vernon Andrews Jr. and McKeesport, the suburb where he worked during the incident on Sept. 23.Online court records don't list an attorney for Andrews and city officials didn't return a call for comment on the lawsuit. It mirrors charges, including defiant trespass, to which Andrews pleaded guilty last month.