Tony LaRussa stories, Page 13
New Kensington contractor accused of fleecing residents in Penn Hills, O’Hara
The owner of a New Kensington brick pointing company who is awaiting trial on charges that he ripped off a family in O’Hara by taking money for work that wasn’t done was arrested on the same charges by Penn Hills police. Dennis M. Eror, 41, of the 300 block of...
10 candidates vying for primary nominations to run for 5 open seats on Pine-Richland School Board
Editor’s note: The Pine Creek Journal is publishing election previews with candidate interviews for contested municipal and school board races only. The preview for the Pine supervisors race will run in the April 27 issue. Democrat and Republican voters in the Pine-Richland School District will be asked to nominate candidates...
Couple face drug, child endangerment charges after Vandergrift cops called to house for domestic dispute
Vandergrift police officers responding to a domestic disturbance call accused a couple of keeping the cocaine and marijuana they used or sold within reach of two young children. John Edward Johnston Jr., 30, of the 3900 block of Greenwood Drive in Allegheny Township was charged with two counts of endangering...
Bail denied for Springdale man accused of beating, strangling woman; trial ordered
A Springdale man accused of beating and strangling a woman who had a protection from abuse order against him has been ordered to stand trial. Stephen Anthon Winstead, 24, of the 900 block of Chester Street waived his right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday during an appearance before District Judge...
Lower Burrell police seek tips, video on weekend burglary along Hilltop Drive
Lower Burrell police are asking for the public’s help identifying suspected who broke into a vacant home over the weekend. Police issued an alert on social media Monday, asking residents in the area of Hilltop Drive who have security cameras to check if their video shows any suspicious people or...
Cheswick man accused of stealing neighbor’s jewelry to feed drug habit
Police say a Cheswick man admitted to breaking into a neighbor’s house to steal her jewelry so he could sell it to support his drug habit. Eric Robert Desabetino, 44, of the 200 block of South Highland Avenue was charged by Allegheny Valley Regional Police with felony counts of burglary,...
Indiana County man killed in Route 380 motorcycle crash
A 34-year-old Indiana County man was killed Monday in a motorcycle crash along Route 380 in Washington Township, authorities said. Ryan James Gould of Shelocta died of blunt force trauma, Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson said. The wreck was reported near the intersection of North Washington Road shortly before 3:30...
State police arrest warrant suspect in Washington Township after high-speed chase
State police arrested a man wanted on a warrant after he fled from a traffic stop in Washington Township and led a trooper on a high-speed chase. Antoine Lee Green, 51, of the 400 block of South Sixth Street in Jeannette was charged with a felony count of fleeing from...
Trial ordered for West Deer man accused by Harmar police of beating woman unconscious, threatening her with knife
A man accused by Harmar police of beating a woman until she was unconscious and threatening her with a knife when she awoke has been ordered to stand trial. Anthony Carl McMillan, 28, of the 200 block of Wineberry Drive in West Deer was charged March 22 with a felony...
Washington Township traffic stop leads to arrest for DUI, felony gun charges
Washington Township police accused a man who is not allowed to possess a gun with having a loaded pistol under the seat when he was pulled over for running a stop sign while intoxicated. John David Gregor, 40, of the 500 block of Armstrong Avenue in Apollo was charged with...
Pine-Richland senior wins auto skills competition
Mark Wolfe doesn’t remember exactly when he began thinking about studying to become an auto repair tech. But every now and then his parents Mark Sr. and Bonnie pull out a snapshot of the Pine-Richland senior as a toddler with his Power Wheel riding toy up on jack stands ready...
Police: Brackenridge man, ordered to stay away from woman, found sleeping on her sofa
A Brackenridge man accused of defying a judge’s order by crawling through the window of a woman’s house and refusing to leave has been ordered to stand trial. Daniel Robert Gates, 46, of the 1000 block of Third Avenue was charged with a felony count of criminal trespass in connection...
4 men accused by West Deer police of kicking in door so 1 of them could ‘pick up’ woman
West Deer police accused four men of kicking down the door of a home after one of them tracked the telephone of a woman inside he was trying to meet up with, according to investigators. Police filed felony charges of burglary and criminal conspiracy against Joseph Robert Carney, 20, of...
Vandergrift police arrest 2 on warrants, charge woman with exposing kids to booze and drugs in dirty house
A Vandergrift woman is accused of exposing her three children to drugs and alcohol and keeping them in a dirty house that had only one working light bulb and food that was expired or rotting. Rebecca Elaine Toth, 29, of the 400 block of Jackson Avenue was charged with a...
Harmar police file felony charge against man accused of firing pistol inside house
Harmar police arrested a man Saturday on charges that he intentionally fired a pistol inside a home during a dispute with his wife. Alex Radovitch, 58, of the 100 block of Orchard Avenue in Harmar was charged with a felony count of discharging a firearm into an occupied structure along...
Washington Township police charge man with vandalizing pickup, trying to set it ablaze
Washington Township police accused a man of stealing the license plate off a pickup that he allegedly trashed and then botched the job when he tried to set it on fire. The man was arrested in Forest County four days after the alleged incident, when a state trooper spotted him...
District judge orders former Arnold fire chief to repay death benefit, court costs
A hearing to resolve a civil claim against the former chief of the Arnold No. 1 fire department didn’t even make it to a courtroom Tuesday morning. Brian Gouza was still in the lobby of District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr.’s courtroom when he simply responded “yes” when the judge...
Pittsburgh Brewing teams with Turner’s Iced Tea for new beer — IC’d TeaVideo
You can’t spell iconic without the letters IC. So when the makers of the iconic Iron City Beer were looking to create a new drink, it seemed only natural to collaborate with another iconic local brand, Turner’s Iced Tea. On April 12 — 412 Day for Yinzers — Pittsburgh Brewing...
Police: Woman assaulted Lower Burrell McDonald’s co-worker with drive-thru headset
Lower Burrell police accused a McDonald’s restaurant employee of assaulting a new co-worker by hitting her in the head with a $900 drive-thru window headset that broke the device. Nicole Monique Brundage, 36, of the 200 block of Freeport Road in New Kensington was charged with misdemeanor counts of simple...
Vehicle fluid, Halloween decoration help New Kensington police track down SUV in crash
New Kensington police accused a man of crashing through a fence on Freeport Road and tearing up the yard in early November after officers tracked a fluid leak from his SUV and found a Halloween decoration from the home on the vehicle’s hood. Dillon James Lawther, 21, of the 1200...
Man charged in crash that caused $35K in damage to New Kensington hotel
A Gilpin man is accused of fleeing from the scene after crashing his girlfriend’s Lincoln SUV through a wall of the Quality Inn hotel in New Kensington in early February, causing $35,000 in damage. The Feb. 11 crash was the second time in less than a year that a vehicle...
Former Washington Township man accused of trying to rip off Richland family by posing as wealthy homebuyer arrested in Rhode Island
A former Alle-Kiski Valley man accused of posing as a wealthy homebuyer to scam a Richland Township family who agreed to sell their home and other property to him for $5.1 million was arrested in Rhode Island on Friday, according to authorities. Timothy Paul Bierly, 27, who previously lived along...
East Vandergrift man gets probation for harassing district judge with late-night phone calls
An East Vandergrift man accused of harassing Allegheny Township District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec with a string of late-night phone calls in November pleaded guilty Monday. Tyler Drew Zidek, 25, of East Vandergrift faced four harassment charges filed by Lower Burrell police for making 13 calls to the district judge’s...
Police: Bullet fired by Vandergrift woman during argument went through neighboring child’s bedroom
Vandergrift police arrested a woman Monday after neighbors told them a bullet fired from her house went through a wall into their child’s bedroom, hitting a mirror and a chair before lodging into another wall. A couple told police they were in another upstairs room with their child when the...
Police: New Kensington man faces felony charge for stealing, selling $20K worth of wife’s jewelry
New Kensington police accused a man of stealing $20,000 worth of jewelry from his wife and selling it to a local shop. Sean Richard Imm, 36, of the 500 block of Greenridge Road was charged with a felony count of theft. He was released from the Westmoreland County jail after...
