Paul Peirce stories, Page 70
Delmont fire officials: State audit recommendations met
Delmont volunteer firefighters report their department is continuing to “move forward” after a recent report by the state auditor general disclosed not all of its recommendations from prior financial audits had been followed. “For audited period Jan. 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2017, the relief association took appropriate corrective action...
Police: Derry Township men stole ATVs, dirt bikes
Two Derry Township men were arrested Tuesday by state police in connection with a rash of all-terrain vehicle and dirt bike thefts since mid-December. Seth A. McIntire, 20, and Cody E. Stiffey, 24, are charged before District Judge Mark Bilik with counts of theft, receiving stolen property, altering vehicle identification...
Cops: Man inappropriately touched 2 Greensburg girls, had child pornography
A Jeannette man remained jailed in Westmoreland County on Tuesday on allegations he had inappropriate contact with two girls while he temporarily stayed at a Greensburg apartment last year, city police reported. Police arrested Gerald A. Helzel, 24, last week following a report made to the state child abuse hotline....
Cops: Women tried to steal $3K worth of merchandise at Hempfield Walmart
Two 20-year-old women were arrested early Tuesday by state police trying to flee the Walmart store in Hempfield without paying for $3,276 worth of items. Megan M. Bender of Connellsville and Julie L. Thomas of New Stanton were arraigned on charges of robbery, retail theft and harassment following the incident...
Troopers seeking clues in 2016 brutal beating of Somerset County woman
On Jan. 28, 2016, Somerset County native Rachel Mishler returned to her home in Greenville Township after finishing an evening shift as a health care worker at a Cumberland County, Md., hospital. “I felt someone was behind me when I walked into the basement. … I turned around briefly and...
Man arrested after assaulting woman in Southwest Greensburg apartment, cops say
A Greensburg man is accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend Friday, returning to her home after being ordered to leave following an argument, borough police allege. Giovanni L. Meighan, 26, was arrested about 1:15 a.m. when police followed up with the victim after the first call and found her running down...
Cops: Pittsburgh man tossed 50 bricks of heroin from car during North Huntingdon pursuit
A Pittsburgh man who led state troopers on a three-mile chase along Route 30 in North Huntingdon late Friday tossed 50 bricks of heroin out of the window before jumping from the still-moving car and fleeing on foot, according to court documents. Laplez G. Cummings, 34, was captured with the...
Police say former inmate was on drugs when he carjacked woman outside jail
Police say a Philadelphia man was under the influence of anxiety medication, marijuana and opioids on Dec. 4 when he carjacked a West Leechburg woman and sped away with her infant grandson in the backseat minutes after being released from Westmoreland County Prison, according to new court documents. County park...
Troopers: Former inmate was on drugs when he carjacked woman outside county jail
A Philadelphia man was under the influence of anxiety medication, marijuana and opioids on Dec. 4 when he carjacked a woman and sped away with her infant grandson in the backseat minutes after being released from the Westmoreland County Prison, according to new court documents. County park police already had...
Cops: Mt. Pleasant woman was on drugs when she struck Walmart worker
State police allege a woman was under the influence of multiple unprescribed drugs, including methadone and methamphetamine, last month when she drove into a row of shopping carts and seriously injured a Walmart employee in East Huntingdon. Ronalee M. Bailey, 40, of Mt. Pleasant was arraigned this week before District...
State to recognize centennial of Torrance State Hospital in Derry Township
Sandra Ewing Robertson is a third-generation resident of Torrance, a village in Derry Township, and was raised in the shadow of Torrance State Hospital — which this year marks 100 years of caring for and treating patients with mental illness. “I think it’s a good thing the state is recognizing...
Mt. Pleasant Twp. store owner to fight corruption chargesVideo
A Mt. Pleasant Township grocery store owner, accused of racking up millions of dollars in illegal profits by selling stolen items, waived his preliminary hearing Thursday and opted to proceed to trial. But don’t read too much into the decision, his lawyer warned. “There is no plea agreement,” said Francis...
Technology, fingerprints helped troopers solve 1999 abduction, rape case
Decades of advances in forensic technology, combined with fingerprints obtained from drunk-driving arrests in Maryland, resulted in a break that allowed troopers to arrest a man for the 1999 abduction and rape of a 10-year-old Somerset County girl, police said Thursday. Timothy D. Nelson Jr., 50, of Cumberland, Md., was...
State police to release details of nearly 20-year-old abduction, rape of Somerset girl
State police plan to announce Thursday details of a nearly 20-year-old investigation into the abduction and rape of a 10-year-old Somerset County girl that resulted in the arrest Wednesday of a 50-year-old Maryland man. Trooper Stephen Limani said Trooper Jeff Brock arrested Timothy D. Nelson Jr., 50, of Cumberland, Md.,...
Scottdale robbery suspect doesn’t mind judge’s decision to increase bail to $250K
A district judge sternly told a Scottdale-area man already in Westmoreland County Prison on robbery charges that he had no choice but to increase his bond since he was accused of committing two more pre-Christmas holdups. Clyde C. Mensch, 42, and two alleged accomplices were arraigned Wednesday before East Huntingdon...
Man accused of hiding video camera inside women’s room at North Huntingdon plant
A 32-year-old Irwin man was arrested this week for allegedly hiding a motion-activated video camera inside a women’s restroom of the North Huntingdon electrical parts manufacturing plant where he worked. Nicholas R. Traill was arraigned before District Judge Wayne Gongaware on charges of invasion of privacy, burglary, possession of obscene...
Alleged gunman in holdup at East Huntingdon store jailed on $100K bail
State police on Monday arrested a Scottdale man and accused him of being the alleged gunman in the Dec. 22 holdup of the Dollar General store at Crossroads Plaza in East Huntingdon. Clyde C. Mensch, 42, was arraigned on charges of robbery, theft, making terroristic threats, receiving stolen property and...
Cops: Former Greensburg man abandoned infant and toddler in failed escape
A former Greensburg man told city police he “panicked” when pulled over Saturday and ran from a traffic stop, abandoning a two-month-old infant and 18-month-old toddler inside his running car. Patrick D. Davis, 31, of New Alexandria, was arraigned Monday on two counts of child endangerment and single counts of...
Fire crews respond to overturned truck leaking diesel fuel in Sewickley Township
Multiple fire departments were summoned to the scene of a fuel spill Monday on Waltz Mill Road in Sewickley Township. Authorities reported a tri-axle truck loaded with gravel overturned on the 900 block of the roadway and was leaking diesel fuel and motor oil. The accident occurred at 1:27 p.m....
‘No regrets’ for Greensburg police in all-out search for ‘missing’ couple
Despite an around-the-clock push to locate a Greensburg-area couple who appeared to vanish late last week becoming all for naught after police discovered the pair was in South Carolina on a “spontaneous vacation,” city police said they have no regrets in how they handled the situation. “It was the result...
Troopers seek information on New Year’s Day fire in Fayette County
State police in Uniontown are seeking information on a New Year’s Day fire that destroyed an out building in rural Fayette County, killing two horses. Fire marshal Craig Soltis said the 5 a.m. fire destroyed a building on the 600 block of Buchanan Avenue, Springfield Township, owned by Arm Land...
Missing Westmoreland pair found safe in South Carolina
Two Greensburg-area people who had been considered missing have been found in South Carolina, and both are safe, Greensburg police said. Police said credit card purchases allowed them early Friday evening to track down Amanda Caldwell, 29, of Greensburg and Joseph Zyvith, 30, of Hempfield. Neither had been seen or...
Cell phone helps Greensburg police identify alleged shoplifter
A cell phone dropped in the parking lot of a Greensburg grocery store Sunday during an altercation between a security guard and an alleged shoplifter helped lead city police to a suspect. Police obtained an arrest warrant Thursday for Patrick Dominique Davis, 31, a Greensburg man accused of getting into...
Officials: ‘It was me,’ Wilkinsburg man said of child porn investigation at his home
A Wilkinsburg man allegedly told police he used the internet to ask children in at least two states to send him nude photos and videos. “It was me,” Jason Gerade Harris Jr. reportedly said when police confronted him with a search warrant for his home and arrested him Dec. 6....
Bolivar man accused of assaulting, threatening ex-girlfriend
A 21-year-old Bolivar man was arrested for allegedly breaking into an ex-girlfriend’s residence in Seward early New Year’s Day, then assaulting her and threatening to burn her house. Darion A. Martin was arraigned on charges of burglary, criminal trespass, possession of marijuana, terroristic threats, possession of prohibited weapons, intimidating a...
