Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 37
Westmoreland shifts Election Day polling locations
The Westmoreland County Elections Board on Thursday approved the relocation of three polling locations for the Nov. 7 general election. The East Murrysville precinct will be moved to the First Presbyterian Church at 3201 North Hills Road. It was previously located at the First United Methodist Church on Old William...
Commissioners finalize deal to buy Unity district court property
After a monthslong delay, a $375,000 deal to purchase property in Unity which houses a magisterial district judge office is expected to be completed this week. Westmoreland County commissioners on Wednesday signed off on the final approvals for the deal and in doing so, continued the county’s takeover of properties...
State inspectors find deficiencies at Westmoreland prison
A state inspection of the Westmoreland County Prison found inmate restraints were improperly tracked by staff, keys and security access devices were insufficiently inventoried and cells had sanitary and maintenance issues. State inspectors who toured the facility in Hempfield on Aug. 1 found seven deficiencies, according to a report obtained...
Staffing shortage limits access to Westmoreland courthouse office
The Westmoreland County Courthouse office where wills are filed and marriage license applications are processed will limit access starting Sept. 25 to account for staff shortages. Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton said appointments will be required to conduct routine business in the third-floor office that oversees orphans court records,...
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County seeks to extend charter to 2073
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County board members want the water and sewer utility to stick around for another half century. The board Wednesday formally asked that county commissioners extend the authority’s charter until 2073, a move they said will enable the agency to take out a lengthy loan to pay...
Derry man claims plea deal to domestic violence will support family
A Derry Township man told a Westmoreland County judge on Tuesday he would plead guilty to domestic violence charges to help his family. In doing so, Kane Markle will have limited contact with his two children, according to terms of a plea deal. The deal will enable his parole from...
New Kensington shooting suspect seeks move to juvenile court
Jonathan Felder was six days shy of his 18th birthday when, according to police, he and six others ambushed and fatally shot a man inside the lobby of a New Kensington apartment building last summer. A forensic psychologist testified Tuesday that Felder, now 19, of Arnold should be prosecuted as...
Restitution payments could accelerate under new auto pay system set to launch in Westmoreland County
Five years after Richard Larrabee was mauled by a dangerous dog, he continues to deal with the pain and costs associated with the attack. Owed more than $3,800 in restitution to cover his medical bills, Larrabee, 76, of Ruffs Dale hasn’t seen a dime since March and has received just...
Derry burglary suspect pleads guilty
An Allegheny County man pleaded guilty Monday to the theft of $65,000 in cash from a Derry Township home last year. Tyrus Martin, 23, who according to court records also lists a home address in Johnstown, faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced later this week....
‘Great mistake’ leads to jail sentence in Greensburg armed robbery
A Mt. Pleasant man who was acquitted two years ago in connection with a shooting in Arnold pleaded guilty to the armed robbery last year at a Greensburg home. Nicholas Haynes, 27, was ordered Monday to serve nine to 23 months in jail and an additional five years on probation...
Westmoreland increases pay in move to reopen juvenile detention center
Westmoreland County’s shuttered juvenile detention center could reopen as early as next month, officials said Thursday. The 16-bed detention program at the Regional Youth Services Center in Hempfield has been closed since early June amid staffing shortages and multiple state investigations. New hires, along with an elevated pay scale approved...
Clairton man chased by North Huntingdon police convicted of fentanyl possession
An Allegheny County man was found guilty of possession of fentanyl after police claimed he tossed out as he ran from police during a traffic stop. Anthony Martin Jamison, 34, of Clairton, was convicted by a Westmoreland County jury Wednesday of one felony charge and three misdemeanors. The investigation began...
Westmoreland County equipment auction seeks bids on cars, pedal boats, skis
Westmoreland County officials are having a garage sale — of sorts. Among the many items up for grabs are about 12,000 covid-era disposable plastic face shields looking for a new home. Unused personal protective equipment accumulated during the early days of the pandemic is among the nearly 200 lots up...
Jury finds Mt. Pleasant man not guilty of shooting at police
Richard Teeters has heard the whispers and noticed the stares from community members since his arrest more than two years ago on charges that he fired a handgun toward police as they responded to his Mt. Pleasant Borough residence following a report of a home invasion. He said he hopes...
Hunker man not guilty of sexual assault
A Westmoreland County jury on Tuesday acquitted a Hunker man who was charged with sexual assault. After more than three hours of deliberations, jurors found Dakota Archibeque, 21, not guilty of indecent assault and simple assault in connection with accusations made by an 18-year-old woman. “I knew exactly what happened...
Trial begins for Mt. Pleasant man accused of shooting at police
The trial began Tuesday for a Mt. Pleasant man accused of firing a gun at police as officers responded to a report of an alleged home invasion in 2021. Westmoreland County prosecutors say Richard Teeters, 52, was the lone occupant of the Pine Street home when police fled for cover...
Hunker man on trial for sexual assault
A now-20-year-old woman told a Westmoreland County jury Monday she never expected to be the victim of a sexual assault. “I was going to go have a good time. I just turned 18 and wanted to get out in the world,” she testified during the first day of the trial...
Record $2.5M spent at Westmoreland tax sale
Kimberly Brant of Adamsburg came to the Westmoreland County Courthouse with a pocketful of cash and hopes for a new home. Jon Wildi of New Kensington hoped for a miracle. Both saw their wishes come true Monday morning at the county’s annual sale of tax delinquent properties where a record...
Westmoreland political leaders eye state judicial contests to lure voters
Westmoreland County’s political leaders said Election Day 2023 could set the stage for the following year’s presidential election. With a ballot devoid of high-profile contested county races this fall, officials said they expect to work overtime to ensure voters are motivated to head to the polls or vote by mail...
Commissioner candidate has surgery for injuries suffered in 2021 Election Day attack
A Democratic candidate for Westmoreland County commissioner is temporarily off the campaign trail after having surgery Thursday to repair lingering injuries suffered during an attack at the polls on Election Day in 2021. Lisa Gephart, 56, of Mt. Pleasant Township remained hospitalized Friday and is recovering and expected to return...
Westmoreland home repair program filled before program launch
A new $1.6 million program to stop future blight has more than enough potential applicants even before Westmoreland County officials were ready to formally announce its launch. Brian Lawrence, executive director of Westmoreland County’s Redevelopment Authority, said referrals from other agencies have “overprescribed” what officials expect to be a popular...
Poker convictions flushed for Derry lawyer
Hunting wasn’t in the cards for Derry Township attorney Larry Burns. So Burns went to court to ask that he once again be allowed to participate in the hobby he enjoyed for decades before he was convicted in 2009 of gambling offenses. He was operating what authorities said were illegal...
Hempfield man convicted of wife’s murder returns to court for 4th appeal
A former Hempfield man serving a life prison sentence for the 2012 murder of his wife appeared before a Westmoreland County judge on Wednesday in a fourth attempt to appeal his conviction. David Stahl, 53, was found guilty of first-degree murder following a 2014 trial in which prosecutors said he...
Ligonier man pleads guilty to possessing child porn
A Ligonier Township man pleaded guilty Wednesday to disseminating and possessing child pornography. Mathew Louis Hoffer, 57, was charged last spring after state investigators linked his home computer to file-sharing programs that contained sexually explicit images of children. According to court records, police found at least 25 files on Hoffer’s...
Texas trucker pleads guilty to sexual assault
A truck driver from Texas was ordered to serve up to six years in prison for sexual assaults against three teenage girls in Rostraver. Clyde D. Clark, 43, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to charges in three cases in which he was accused of having improper sexual relations with girls ages...
