Tony LaRussa stories, Page 25
Police say Pittsburgh man was selling drugs out of New Kensington house, nearly 2 ounces of crack confiscated
A Pittsburgh man was arrested Friday morning on felony charges after a drug task force raided a house in New Kensington and found him in possession of close to 2 ounces of crack cocaine and other evidence of drug dealing, according to authorities. Jordan Edwin James, 30, of the 3400...
Armstrong County man faces drug charges after police pursuit in Springdale Township
An Armstrong County man faces felony drug charges after a state trooper said suspected fentanyl tablets fell out of his shorts during a traffic stop in July 2021. Braden Taylor Stevenson, 23, of the 100 block of Brady’s Bend Cemetery Road in Brady’s Bend Township, was charged with two felony...
Convicted felon accused of trying to hide gun after Arnold cops were called to quell fight with neighbor
An Arnold man who is not allowed to have a firearm because of his criminal record was accused by police of trying to hide a handgun from officers responding to a call for a fight between him and a neighbor. Troy Lyn Jones, 48, of the 1600 block of Horne...
Richland man accused of ditching woman’s body after overdose
A Richland man was charged with abusing a corpse after police said he left a woman in her vehicle in front of her house after she died of a drug overdose while they were together. Patrick William McCurry, 43, faces a Sept. 28 preliminary hearing on the misdemeanor charge before...
Police: Fentanyl, crystal meth seized in raid at New Kensington home
Police charged two New Kensington men with conspiring to sell fentanyl and methamphetamine after significant amounts of the drugs were confiscated during a raid at one of their homes Monday evening. Andrew Michael Slywczuk, 38, of the 400 block of Charles Avenue and Shawnti Eugene Shifflett, 26, of the 500...
Gilpin cop off the job after corruption of minor charge filed against him in Greensburg
A Gilpin Township police officer was suspended without pay and subsequently resigned after he was charged with corruption of a minor in Greensburg. William Andrew Rapone II, 22, of the 200 block of Longfellow Street in Vandergrift, was charged by Greensburg police on Aug. 3 with misdemeanor counts of corruption...
ChildLine report leads to new charges against man convicted in 2020 of inappropriate contact with child
A Monroeville man on probation for corruption of a minor in a 2020 case was issued a summons last week from Allegheny Township police on similar charges. Guerau Bernat Cabrera, 44, of the 3800 block of Northern Pike in Monroeville was charged Aug. 8 by township police with a misdemeanor...
Police: Body armor, narcotics, cash seized during raid at Lower Burrell house
Police accused a Lower Burrell man of being a drug dealer after narcotics, body armor, a large amount of cash and other evidence was seized from his home during a raid. Jevon Damian Sims, 33, of the 100 block of Ireland Drive was charged with felony counts of illegal possession...
New Kensington police accuse man of stealing cane from elderly man, using it to smash his car window
New Kensington police accused a man of stealing a cane from a 75-year-old man with physical challenges and using it to smash the rear windshield of the 75-year-old’s car because he was rooting through a dumpster to gather metal cans. Charles Darnell Jones, 48, of the 1900 block of Alcoa...
Investigators say Michigan man pulled from river near Tarentum Bridge drowned accidentally at scene
Authorities say a Michigan man who was found dead in the Allegheny River several hundred yards downstream from the Tarentum Bridge on Thursday drowned accidentally at the scene. Tirrell Lamont Smith, 40, of Grand Rapids was found unresponsive in the water a short time after first responders arrived because someone...
State police arrest man after Parks Township resident accuses him of burglary, knife threat
State police charged a man with a felony count of burglary after a Parks Township resident accused him of entering his home without permission, stealing a computer and then returning later the same day to threaten him with a knife. In addition to the burglary charge, Brandan Lee Sacik, 25,...
Authorities ID Michigan man found dead in Allegheny River off East Deer shore
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has released the name of the man who was found dead Thursday afternoon in the Allegheny River off the East Deer shore. The medical examiner identified the man as Tirrell Lamont Smith, 40. Inspector Mike Peairs of the Allegheny County Police said Smith is...
Washington Township man with string of felony convictions denied bond after police file gun, assault, other charges
A Washington Township man who has multiple felony convictions is jailed without bond on gun, assault and theft charges. Harold Michael Franks, 40, of the 300 block of Route 356 was charged with illegal possession of a firearm, two counts of aggravated assault, theft and receiving stolen property, which are...
Gilpin police say woman illegally set up home in vacant property
A woman accused by Gilpin police of moving into a vacant house with her dog after the owner put the property up for sale has been ordered to stand trial. Francesca Gimigliano, 43, who is homeless according to police, was charged with felony counts of criminal trespass and burglary, along...
Body pulled from Allegheny River near marina in Tarentum
A body was pulled from the Allegheny River on Thursday afternoon near the marina in Tarentum when someone called 911 after seeing it floating in the waterway, according authorities. A Tarentum police officer who arrived shortly after 3 p.m. began the search by being ferried along the river near the...
Frazer man charged with sexual assault of young girl
Allegheny County Police detectives arrested a Frazer man after, they said, a pre-teen girl told investigators he forced her to have sexual contact with him. Zachary Chicko, 37, of New Orchard Road was charged with felony counts of corruption of a minor and unlawful contact with a minor along with...
Frazer police accuse woman of using nursing home’s credit card for $42K spending spree
Frazer police arrested a woman they say confessed to using a company credit card to steal more than $42,400 from the nursing home where she worked because, she said, they reneged on a promise to pay her bonuses for recruiting new employees. Jennifer L. Ward, 48, of the 900 block...
Police: Gun charge filed after man drops pistol while being questioned about vehicle break-ins
A Harrison police officer responding to a call of two men trying to break into vehicles accused a Pittsburgh man of illegally carrying a gun after he dropped the weapon while being questioned on the street. John Pinkney Krall, 18, of Colombo Street in the city’s Garfield neighborhood was charged...
Fire departments in Western Pennsylvania warning people about scam involving T-shirt sales
Volunteer fire departments across the region, including at one in Allegheny Township, are alerting people about a scam involving the sale of T-shirts to raise money to support their operations. Markle Volunteer Fire Department posted a warning on its Facebook page Monday asking people to be wary of the solicitation...
State audit of Markle Fire Department Relief Association referred to Westmoreland DA after irregularities alleged
The state auditor general has asked the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office to look deeper into the financial operation of the Markle Volunteer Fire Department Relief Association in Allegheny Township after an audit allegedly uncovered evidence of missing money and other irregularities over a three-year period. “Our auditors uncovered instances...
Oklahoma Borough woman’s lifelong love of gardening takes root with new venture: Luna Joy Flower Farm
For as far back as she can remember, Andrea Woodhall has been captivated by the spectrum of color, fragrance and intricate detail waiting to be discovered in a field of flowers. But until the Oklahoma Borough woman decided to transition out of a career in photography in 2019, she never...
2 Butler County men accused of stealing wire from Lowe’s in Richland
Two men from Butler County face felony theft charges after Northern Regional Police accused them of conspiring to steal rolls of electrical wire from the Lowe’s store in Richland Township that they sold to buy heroin. Michael Andrew Fisher, 35, of Old Plank Road in Butler Township, was charged with...
Woman accused of tattooing underage girl’s neck without permission from parents, faces charges
A tattoo artist who rents space at a parlor in Springdale was charged by police with tattooing a butterfly on an underage girl’s neck without getting permission from a parent. Shaolin Ameris Barr, 21, of the 2000 block of Constitution Avenue in Arnold was charged with misdemeanor counts of corruption...
Woman faces felony charge after neighbor said she entered home while young son napped
Lower Burrell police arrested a woman after a neighbor accused the woman of entering her house without permission while her underage son was napping on the sofa. Maren Leigh Burgess, 42, of the 200 block of Macbeth Drive was charged with a felony count of criminal trespass. She was being...
Police accuse West Deer man of threatening to kill Richland resident with box cutter
A West Deer man was arrested by Northern Regional Police in Richland Township after a resident reported the man threatened to kill him with a box cutter when he approached his truck to ask if he needed help. Brett Kreider, 34, of 200 block of McClure Road, was charged with...
