Paul Peirce stories, Page 12
Hartford Heights VFD’s annual Breakfast with Santa gaining popularity
Hartford Heights Volunteer Fire Department trustee Duane Kucera admitted Sunday’s breakfast with Santa event might not be the North Huntingdon department’s most lucrative event, but it is quickly becoming one of its most popular. The department’s parking lot off Route 30 was jammed, and a line of people waiting to...
Pittsburgh police investigate stabbing in Northview Heights
Pittsburgh police are investigating the stabbing of a man in his 30s in Northview Heights Saturday. Police said officers from Zone 1 were dispatched about 7:45 p.m. to the 200 block of Lamar Street for reports of a man with multiple stab wounds to his face, arm and back. The...
Funeral arrangements set for Gerald ‘Jerry’ Lucia, longtime Mt. Pleasant mayor and fire chief
Funeral arrangements have been announced for Gerald “Jerry” Lucia, the longtime Mt. Pleasant mayor and fire chief, who died unexpectedly at his home Friday. Friends of Lucia, 76, will be received in the Brooks Funeral Home, Inc. at 406 E. Washington St., Mount Pleasant from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday...
Police: Man stabbed at Tequila Cowboy bar on North Shore
A man was hospitalized late Saturday after he suffered stab wounds during a fight inside a bar on the North Shore, according to Pittsburgh police. Police responded to Tequila Cowboy on the 300 block of North Shore Drive just after 10 p.m. to investigate a fight where “a male suffered...
McKees Rocks man arrested for possession of 20 bricks of heroin after traffic stop in West End, deputies say
A 26-year-old McKees Rocks man was arrested Friday by Allegheny County Sheriff’s deputies for possession of 20 “bricks” of heroin after a traffic stop in the West End. The sheriff’s department said Jaron Allen was stopped about 8:30 p.m. for driving erratically including crossing over the double-yellow line on multiple...
Wreaths Across America effort expands through Westmoreland County
Vietnam veteran Tim Brennan was among the few dozen volunteers who turned out on Dec. 19, 2020 — after a blizzard dumped 9 inches of snow on the region — to lay wreaths on 660 veteran grave sites in two Jeannette cemeteries in the inaugural Wreaths Across America event held...
Man shot in leg outside of Uptown bar, Pittsburgh police say
Pittsburgh police said a man is in stable condition after being shot in his leg Saturday afternoon in the 1300 block of Fifth Avenue. Police reported that officers responded to a Shotspotter alert for multiple shots fired in the area just after 2:30 p.m. Responding officers learned the wounded man...
Truck driver killed in crash on Route 22 in Salem, coroner says
A 32-year-old Fayette County man was killed Friday in a two-vehicle collision along Route 22 in Salem Township, according to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office. Ian C. Praster Sr. of Brownsville was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred just before 7 a.m. at the intersection of...
Early-morning fire damages Bird Dog’s Sports Bar & Grill in Harrison
A fire early Saturday extensively damaged and broke up a Christmas party at a Harrison bar and restaurant, according to social media posts from Hilltop Hose Co. The fire at Bird Dog’s Sports Bar & Grill, at 2615 Freeport Road, was reported at 12:12 a.m. Saturday, the fire department’s Facebook...
Family displaced, 1 injury reported in Jeannette blaze
One person was injured and a Jeannette family was displaced after a fire extensively damaged one side of a duplex early Saturday, according to city firefighters. Jeannette Fire Chief William Frye said the fire was reported about 2 a.m. at 317 S. Fifth St. “There was an adult resident who...
Penn Township woman arrested for 2 DUIs in 19 hours, police say
A 63-year-old Penn Township woman was accused of drunken driving after crashes on Sunday and Monday nights, township police said. Mary Anne Brennan also has two previous DUI convictions, police said. The Sunday crash happened about 10:30 p.m., when she crashed on Hyland Road and the car she was driving...
Indiana County woman killed in wrong-way collision with dump truck, troopers say
An 82-year-old Indiana County woman was killed and a female passenger was seriously injured Tuesday morning after her car collided with a dump truck in a wrong-way collision along Route 422, state police said. The driver of a 2000 Ford Focus sedan was from Homer City, as was a 78-year-old...
Woman accused of cutting, biting former boyfriend and his roommate in Greensburg
A woman who called police to report an assault early Monday after a night of drinking with a former boyfriend and another man at a Greensburg apartment is wanted by city police on charges she assaulted both men, according to court records. Greensburg police are asking people for help in...
Police warning Hempfield, Greensburg and North Huntingdon residents of recent surge in vehicle, home break-ins
Police are warning residents in several Westmoreland County communities, including Greensburg, Hempfield and North Huntingdon, about a recent surge in vehicle and home break-ins. On Friday, state police released photographs taken from residential security cameras of people who are suspected of looking for unlocked cars and trucks in the vicinity...
Georgia man arrested in Rostraver for using fake ID to buy iPhones, Airpods
A Georgia man who was being questioned Thursday by Rostraver police for allegedly using false information to purchase two iPhones at a Verizon store was arrested after he began struggling with an officer, according to court documents. Christopher D. Pace, 43, of Snellville, Ga., was arrested by township police for...
Two charged with helping fugitive elude police in St. Clair Township
Two people have been charged with concealing and hindering the apprehension of fugitive Ray A. Shetler Jr., who was arrested late Tuesday after a struggle with sheriff’s deputies and state police when they discovered him hiding in a St. Clair Township mobile home, according to court documents. Shetler, 37, who...
Man charged with burglaries of Greensburg medical offices
Greensburg police arrested a Jeannette man Wednesday, accusing him of breaking into Excela Health offices last weekend to steal a laptop computer and several petty items, according to court documents. Travis A. Gibson, 37, kicked open the doors to three offices inside 562 Shearer St. late Saturday, according to patrolman...
Fire marshal investigating cause of South Huntingdon house fire
A state police fire marshal will attempt to determine the cause of a fire that destroyed a two-story wood frame home in South Huntingdon Thursday, according to fire officials. A dozen fire departments from southwestern Westmoreland County and northern Fayette County responded to the blaze on the 100 block of...
Fugitive in custody after fight with deputies, troopers in rural Westmoreland County
A New Florence man acquitted in the 2015 killing of a St. Clair Township police officer was taken into custody late Tuesday in rural Westmoreland County after fighting with county sheriff’s deputies and state troopers, authorities said. Ray A. Shetler Jr., 37, was taken into custody at a mobile home...
Police: Westmoreland prison inmate had homemade shank in jail cell
A Greensburg man in jail on charges of attempting to stab his community college teacher with a screwdriver was arraigned Tuesday for allegedly possessing a homemade weapon, or shank, in his cell. A guard reported that while on routine rounds Nov. 21, he saw a shank lying on a blanket...
Indiana teacher sentenced to prison for sexually assaulting teen in 2009
A former Indiana Area School District teacher who pleaded guilty earlier this year to sexually assaulting a student in 2009 was sentenced Monday to serve 5 to 10 years in state prison. President Judge Thomas Bianco also ordered Patrick J. McKee, 61, of Indiana, complete sex offender treatment and register...
Hempfield man accused of choking, cutting woman during argument over rent
State police arrested a 59-year-old Hempfield man after a woman said he cut her stomach with a knife and punched and choked her during an argument, according to court documents. Franz N. Wade of Fitzpatrick Road in Grapeville is accused of assaulting and threatening the woman multiple times Friday during...
2 weekly Millionaire Raffle prizes of $50K go to tickets sold in Allegheny, Westmoreland counties
Winning tickets for two $50,000 weekly prizes from the New Year’s Millionaire Raffle were sold in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, Pennsylvania Lottery officials said. The raffle features two prizes of $50,000 each week for two months leading up to the Jan. 8 drawing. The third week’s winning numbers — 00095198...
Police: Man stabbed co-worker at Jeannette plant
Jeannette police on Thursday arrested a Derry Township man after he was accused of stabbing a coworker during a discussion over manufacturing safety protocols. Scott Lee “Woody” Woodmancy, 57, of Bradenville was accompanied to an office inside Omnova Solutions, located at 1001 Chambers Ave., around 10:30 a.m. to discuss “possible...
Police in Westmoreland County to target DUI, aggressive drivers through New Year’s Day
Westmoreland County drivers can expect to see more police patrols focused on cracking down on aggressive and impaired drivers in the region through the New Year’s holiday. “Whether it’s day or night, people can expect to see increased state police patrols targeting impaired drivers,” said Lt. Ryan Maher of Troop...
