Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 64
Greensburg Easter Egg hunt signals return to normal
For 2-year-old Lilly Hiester, the brightly colored eggs and chocolate treats inside were just an appetizer. Dressed in a yellow rain slicker with blue rubber boots, Lilly bounded from puddle to puddle as her parents followed behind just out of range of the water their young daughter playfully kicked up....
Westmoreland courthouse garage project underway, demo to begin in May
Jackhammers are pounding away this week, grinding out planters that line the wall outside county commissioners’ offices along the front edge of the Westmoreland courthouse annex on Main Street in Greensburg. Upstairs, court proceedings continue amid the noise. “It’s really hard to hear,” Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio said as...
Arnold burglary nets at least 2 years in prison for West Leechburg man
A West Leechburg man was ordered to serve at least two years in prison for stealing nearly $44,000 of equipment from an Arnold landscaping business site last year. Randy D. McGuire Jr., 32, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to burglary and other offenses in connection with thefts of tools and other...
Fairfield man to serve at least 7 years in prison for Christmas assault
A Fairfield man was sentenced to serve at least seven years in prison for a Christmas 2020 assault on his wife and another incident four months later in which police he held her captive at knifepoint. Zachery Allen Collier, 27, pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of aggravated assault, simple assault...
Trial for New Florence man accused of assault of deputy sheriff delayed
The trial of a former New Florence man previously acquitted of killing a police officer and now accused of assaulting a Westmoreland County deputy sheriff has been delayed until at least June. Ray Shetler Jr., 37, appeared in court this week for a procedural hearing to determine if his trial...
Jeannette man sent to jail for Excela break-in
A Jeannette man was ordered to serve up to 23 months in jail for the burglary of three medical offices at Excela Health in Greensburg. Travis Michael Gibson, 37, pleaded guilty this week to charges to felony burglary and trespassing offenses, as well as misdemeanor theft, criminal mischief and receiving...
Hempfield man convicted in teen’s 2002 murder seeks early end to probation
A Hempfield man who as a teenager pleaded guilty to charges that he participated in the 2002 murder of a classmate’s older brother wants the 10-year probation term portion of his sentence, scheduled to begin this month, terminated to allow him to move to another state. Robert Laskowski, now 35,...
2nd mask requirement lawsuit filed against Kennywood, Sandcastle, Idlewild
Parents of three children filed a lawsuit Friday in Westmoreland County against Kennywood, Sandcastle Waterpark and Idlewild & SoakZone, claiming they were improperly excluded from the amusement parks in 2020 for not wearing masks. The claims follow nearly identical allegations raised in a still-pending federal lawsuit filed by the same...
Lawyer: No plea deal offered before trial of Greensburg man convicted in Vandergrift woman’s murder
The lawyer for an Export man awaiting trial for his role in the 2017 murder of a Vandergrift woman whose remains were burned beyond recognition in a wooded area near Keystone State Park claims his client did not have a plea deal in place when he testified last summer in...
$12,720 tax lien filed against Westmoreland Coroner Tim Carson
Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson owes more than $11,000 in unpaid state income taxes, according to court documents. Carson, a Republican from Scottdale, won the November election and took office in January. For more than two decades, he has owned and operated Carson’s Tavern and Catering, a restaurant and events...
$12,720 tax lien filed against Westmoreland Coroner Tim Carson
Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson owes more than $11,000 in unpaid state income taxes, according to court documents. Carson, a Republican from Scottdale, won the November election and took office in January. For more than two decades, he has owned and operated Carson’s Tavern and Catering, a restaurant and events...
Parks woman to serve house arrest, probation for assault on Vandergrift police
A Parks Township woman was sentenced to probation and house arrest on Thursday in connection with assaults on two Vandergrift police officers in 2019. Candy Lee Yockey, 43, formerly of Plum, pleaded guilty in July to two charges of aggravated assault for an incident in Vandergrift three years ago in...
Ligonier man pleads guilty to sexual assault of teen
A Ligonier man was ordered Thursday to serve up to 10 years in prison for the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl. Tyler Madison Smith, 26, pleaded guilty to four felony counts of statutory sexual assault and single charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and corruption of a minor in...
Lawyer for Unity man argues revenge shooting into wrong house was not murder
A Westmoreland County judge will decide if a Derry Township woman’s 2020 death at the hands of a man who fired four shots into the wrong home was murder. Court documents filed Wednesday by the lawyer for Nathan Quidetto argued that Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger should dismiss murder...
Sewickley man charged with assault of 3 people to remain in jail
A Sewickley man will remain in jail as he awaits trial on charges that he assaulted three people, including one who police said was hit in the face with a shovel. Jason Lee Bingaman, 50, has been in jail on $50,000 bond since his arrest in January. He is charged...
Retired Westmoreland Park Police dog takes a bow
After a decade of duty, Rex, Westmoreland County’s explosive detection dog, is calling it quits. The 11-year-old Belgian Malinois that served as the first K9 officer with the county’s Park Police Department, was retired from service in February. The canine and his handler, Officer Bill Meyers of Hempfield, were honored...
Eastmont Estates shooting suspects seeks transfer of attempted murder case to juvenile court
A Cheswick man who turned 18 a month after he was charged last year with the attempted murder of three people during a shooting outside of a Greensburg apartment building contends he should be prosecuted as a juvenile. The lawyer for Jaron Malik Haten-McCoy filed court documents Tuesday that argue...
Testimony begins in trial of Pittsburgh man charged in 2019 fatal shooting in Arnold
A Pittsburgh man told a Westmoreland County jury on Tuesday he was less than 5 feet away when he watched a man pull out a gun and fire multiple shots into the back of a friend who had started to run away down an Arnold alley nearly three years ago....
Trial begins for Rostraver man charged with sexual assault of child
Testimony started Monday in the trial of a Rostraver man accused of repeated sexual assaults of a 7-year-old girl. Westmoreland County prosecutors contend Robert Taylor Parks IV, 24, had sexual contact with his accuser at least five times dating back to 2015. Parks was charged in December 2020 with two...
Driver shortage results in Westmoreland transit service cuts
Despite a recent uptick in ridership, Westmoreland County Transit Authority will need to cut some commuter bus service to account for an ongoing driver shortage, officials said. Keeping and retaining drivers has been an issue for the authority since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and that shortage has left...
Additional damages sought for pool injury as Washington Township homeowners appeal $19M verdict
The lawyer for a Vandergrift man who won a $19 million verdict this month from a Westmoreland County jury has asked a judge to order a Washington Township couple found responsible for his injuries to pay another $3.8 million in delayed damages. The verdict, the largest ever awarded in Westmoreland...
Westmoreland’s clout in Harrisburg cut through redistricting
For the past decade, state Rep. George Dunbar’s 56th District local office has operated in a building just south of Clay Pike, near the Circleville Volunteer Fire Hall in North Huntingdon. For a while last week it was unclear whether the veteran state lawmaker would be able keep his office...
Former Westmoreland deputy sheriff pleads guilty to sex crime; sentenced to probation
A former Westmoreland County deputy sheriff pleaded guilty Friday to charges he bribed female inmates with tobacco products in return for sexual favors. Daniel Aaron Gradischek, 34, of Unity, was charged in late 2019 with five counts alleging that over a 10-year period he used his position as a deputy...
Former Westmoreland deputy sheriff pleads guilty to sex crime; sentenced to probation term
A former Westmoreland County deputy sheriff pleaded guilty Friday to charges he bribed female inmates with tobacco products in return for sexual favors. Daniel Aaron Gradischek, 34, of Unity, was charged in late 2019 with five criminal counts alleging that over a 10-year period he used his position as a...
Bonuses approved for Westmoreland 911 call takers
Westmoreland County will use cash in an attempt bolster its roster of 911 dispatchers and call-takers. Commissioners have agreed to a $486,000 financial package to award raises to dozens of county employees in multiple departments and award bonuses to 911 staffers, as well as new hires. “This is a public...
