Paul Peirce stories, Page 5
Suspended Somerset district attorney could have bail revoked following new charges
State Attorney General Josh Shapiro this week filed a motion asking a judge to revoke the bond of suspended Somerset District Attorney Jeffrey L. Thomas after two new sets of charges were filed against him. Thomas, 36, is awaiting trial on sexual assault charges. He now is accused of pursuing...
2 hurt in Hempfield crash
Two people were taken by ambulance Wednesday afternoon from the scene of a crash in Hempfield, according to first responders. Two cars collided at the intersection of Slate Run Road and Route 130 around 1:30 p.m. One of the cars overturned and was sitting on its roof while first responders...
Arona man accused of burglary, false imprisonment
A 44-year-old Arona man was arrested by state police Monday after he was accused of breaking into a woman’s residence in Derry Township and carrying her outside before she was able to break free, according to court records. Shawn E. Grbach was arrested at the scene after the woman called...
Mt. Pleasant Township woman accused of hitting man with SUV
A Mt. Pleasant Township woman was jailed over the weekend after police said she struck a man with her SUV, sending him to the hospital for treatment of arm injuries. Cynthia M. Janos, 33, was released from the county prison Sunday on $10,000 recognizance bond. She is charged with aggravated...
No injuries reported in kitchen fire in Greensburg
Greensburg firefighters responded to a kitchen fire Monday afternoon on Arch Avenue in the city, according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatch supervisor. The fire was reported about 2:40 p.m., the dispatcher said. First responders at the scene said there were no apparent injuries as firefighters worked to quickly douse...
Detectives charge 2 more in Westmoreland prison drug smuggling scheme
A former inmate at the Westmoreland County Prison is back behind bars after being accused by county detectives of participating in a Suboxone smuggling scheme with another inmate. Brad M. Rentz, 43, of Indiana, was arrested Monday by county Detective James Williams and accused of conspiring with another inmate, Jamie...
Redevelopment experts advise local officials at Westmoreland ‘blight boot camp’
If local officials want to start the uphill fight to combat blight and begin revitalizing their communities, multiple speakers at a “blight boot camp” held Friday at Westmoreland County Community College said they’ve got to start on the ground. Multiple speakers, including Christy Bean Rowing, executive director of the Washington...
Troopers accuse Mt. Pleasant area man of multiple burglaries
A former employee of a Donegal Township event center is accused of repeatedly burglarizing the facility since he was fired this month. Donald “Duck” Bailey, 61, is accused of stealing a utility terrain vehicle, alcohol and scratch-off lottery tickets from the Stonehenge Lodge since being terminated April 13, state police...
Hempfield man jailed after police say he disrupted a funeral, broke window at congressman’s office
A Hempfield man who was the target of a search a month ago for allegedly desecrating and stealing a Pennsylvania state flag was jailed Thursday, accused of setting off a fire alarm at a funeral, damaging a statue and breaking a window at a congressman’s local office. Roger C. Strautmann,...
Irwin police warning residents of telephone scam seeking money for department
Irwin police said they have received word that scammers are calling area residents claiming to be collecting money for the borough police department, Chief Dan Wensel said. “That’s absolutely not true. We are not soliciting donations for anything,” Wensel said. He also noted that police officers do not take any...
Troopers say Donegal Township man sexually assaulted mentally challenged person
An 80-year-old Donegal Township man was arrested Tuesday by state police after he was accused of sexually assaulted a mentally challenged person on Sunday. Ronald W. Kern was ordered held in the county jail without bail after being arraigned on charges of aggravated indecent assault, aggravated indecent assault of a...
Arona man accused by troopers of DUI in fatal 2021 crash in Hempfield
State police on Wednesday arrested a 54-year-old man on charges of drunken driving and homicide by vehicle for allegedly causing a 2021 crash along Route 136 in Hempfield that killed a woman. A forensic test on Ronald A. Jaffre of Arona indicated he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.14% at...
Tip to Westmoreland prison staff results in drug smuggling charge for inmate
County detectives arrested Westmoreland County Prison inmate suspected of smuggling Suboxone into the Hempfield lockup after someone dropped an anonymous tip in a suggestion box. Jamie Rayques Espy, 33, is charged with three felony counts of manufacturing, delivery and possession of a controlled substance, conspiracy to smuggle a controlled substance...
Woman accused by police of DUI in 3-vehicle crash that injured 7 in North Huntingdon
A North Versailles woman was arrested Monday by North Huntingdon police on multiple charges of DUI and aggravated assault by vehicle for causing a March 8 crash on Route 30 that sent seven people to the hospital, according to court documents. Police allege the driver of a 2017 silver Chevrolet...
Mt. Pleasant man jailed on $250K bond after accused by troopers of firing handgun at car
State police arrested a 25-year-old Mt. Pleasant man on accusations of firing a handgun at a car that drove past a friend’s home over the weekend, according to court documents. Joshua Scott Lucot was ordered held in the county prison on $250,000 bond after the incident at 2 a.m. Saturday...
PennDOT plan to replace Fourth Street Bridge in North Irwin posted online
A virtual plan display for the proposed replacement of the Fourth Street Bridge in North Irwin is available online for area residents to view, PennDOT said. The bridge, located west of the intersection of Route 993 and Main Street, has been closed for several years because of deteriorating conditions, project...
Trafford-based home health care provider pays $383K to 46 workers to settle overtime claims
A Westmoreland County-based home health care service provider has agreed to pay more than $380,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 46 employees working from four Western Pennsylvania locations who were denied overtime pay dating back to 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The agency’s Wage and...
Hospital patient accused by police of assaulting 2 nurses in Greensburg emergency room
Two emergency room nurses at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg escaped serious injury Wednesday after witnesses told police the staffers were kicked as they treated a 19-year-old patient, according to court documents. Brylin A. Hickman of Jeannette is charged with two counts each of aggravated assault, simple assault and...
Hempfield man charged with assault after he’s accused of pointing BB gun at couple
A Hempfield man accused of threatening an area couple with a gun after they arrived at his home to pick up a relative’s belongings was arrested by state troopers this week on multiple assault charges. Although the weapon turned out to be a BB gun, Tommy Lee Horner, 32, who...
Westmoreland airport officials seek to double size of Arnold Palmer terminal
The Westmoreland County Airport Authority will begin formalizing plans in May to more than double the size of the terminal building at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity, officials said Tuesday. The two-story terminal building was dedicated in 1977 and was refurbished in 1998 to accommodate just 60 commercial passengers,...
Derry Township woman accused by troopers of providing 3 youths with alcohol during ATV theft
A Derry Township woman awaiting hearings on accusations of providing false information to a firearms dealer and falsely telling troopers it was stolen was jailed without bond Monday after she was accused of corruption of minors. Tina Marie Rose, 41, of the village of Brenizer, was arrested by state police...
Trooper cites Latrobe driver accused of road rage incident involving teenager in Salem
A Latrobe man became so angry at a teenager driving on the Route 66 entrance ramp to Route 22 in Salem over the weekend that state police said he got out of his car at a red light and began punching a rear door of the teen’s car, according to...
Drug task force accuses couple of possessing crack cocaine, 12 bricks of heroin at Unity hotel
Acting on a tip, Westmoreland County Drug Task Force officers and the state Attorney General’s Office arrested a couple accused of possessing large quantities of suspected crack cocaine and heroin inside a Unity hotel room, according to court documents. Franklin T. Ellis II, 37, of West Homestead and Iyeashia C....
Central Westmoreland County fire departments dispatched to house fire in Salem
Multiple fire departments responded Friday to a house fire in Salem, according to a dispatcher for Westmoreland County 911. The fire was reported at about 3:30 p.m. along the 100 block of Story Road, the dispatcher said. It took firefighters about 30 minutes to put out the fire. No one...
State police accuse former Hempfield woman of abusing infant son
Two days after arresting a 35-year-old Hempfield man on accusations of abusing an infant boy in his care, state police arrested the child’s mother Friday on an identical charge. Danielle R. Thompson, 28, who has no fixed address listed in court documents, was arraigned Friday on a charge of child...
