Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 30

A federal grand jury returned indictments against two men accused of burglarizing a New Kensington gun store in January. Michael Guin, 26, of Harrison and Steyn Sarduy, 18, no address available, each are charged with conspiracy and theft of a firearm from a licensed firearms dealer. Guin also is charged...

Today, Giustino Racchini is a freshman at Penn State University studying journalism, with plans to be a play-by-play announcer or a sportswriter. On a cold Monday in December, the 19-year-old lay dead on Old Frankstown Road in his hometown of Plum. He wasn’t breathing. He had no pulse. His heart...

Holly Knapp knows there are places illicit drugs are bought and sold in New Kensington. She didn’t think her neighborhood was one of them. Knapp has lived for 25 years on Beamer Avenue, a short distance from where police Saturday descended on a house at the corner of Seventh Street,...

Maya Horton’s favorite thing about her home in Wesley Family Service’s Pioneer Apartments is peace. “It’s very peaceful. I have my peace,” she said. “That’s what I like about living here in this building. I go home to a peaceful environment, and I feel safe in my home.” Horton was...

Federal authorities charged two men with dealing large amounts of cocaine from a house they lived in near Martin Elementary School in New Kensington. Marcos Francisco-Tomas and Andres Flores-Cedeno were arrested Saturday, according to an affidavit that a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration special agent filed in federal court in Pittsburgh....

A natural gas leak was discovered in Riverview Jr.-Sr. High School on Monday, a day during which no students or staff were inside the building. A handful of people who were in the Oakmont school in the morning, including custodians and a group conducting an architectural walkthrough, evacuated shortly before...

Average gas prices in the Pittsburgh area have gone up 12 cents in the past week to an average of $3.63 per gallon, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy. Pittsburgh-area drivers are paying, on average, 19 cents more per gallon for gas than they did a month ago but about 14...

A raid of a New Kensington home Thursday morning turned up just 4 grams of crack cocaine, but city police said they suspect other illegal drugs were flushed down a toilet before authorities discovered them. One of three people found inside the home, 78-year-old Leon Cash, faces drug charges in...

A Turtle Creek man who worked as an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher used two children to produce child pornography, according to a 20-count federal indictment. Robert Bookshar, 46, was indicted on charges related to the sexual exploitation of minors, U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced Thursday. According to the indictment,...

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Feb. 16: Pittsburgh Zoo announces death of elephant calf An elephant calf died after a sudden and brief illness, the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium announced. The calf, named Tsuni, was 2 years old and lived with a herd...

Plum residents are now able to get rid of expired or unwanted medications at a new drop box at the borough’s police station. Longwood at Oakmont in Plum bought the box for the borough for $2,600, said Kevin Henderson, Longwood senior director. “The Plum Police Department will also come to...

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Feb. 15: Man shot in foot outside Pittsburgh bus station A man was shot in the foot Wednesday night outside the Greyhound bus station in Pittsburgh, police said. The shooting at 11th Street and Penn Avenue was reported...

Plum will spend more than $1 million to resurface about 10 miles of roads this year. Council awarded a $1.22 million contract to Derry Construction. The work will not start until Aug. 1 at the earliest, to give borough crews time to finish other work on the roads, borough Manager...

An Export man is accused of threatening relatives with guns and a machete before brandishing a gun in front of state police troopers responding to the disturbance Sunday. State police filed numerous charges against 63-year-old Robert Deering. According to state police, Deering was arguing with his daughter and son-in-law after...

Plum Council has approved filling three vacancies in the borough’s police department and in doing so has offered employment to the department’s second female officer. Council on Monday approved conditional offers of employment to Jason Saunders, Haylee Walak and Luke Skledar. They will replace officers who have retired or resigned,...

How a live firearm round got into Valley High School in New Kensington remains under investigation and “raises quite a few questions,” according to New Kensington-Arnold Superintendent Chris Sefcheck. “These questions are the foundation for a review of our processes and procedures for school safety and security,” he said Wednesday....

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Feb. 14: Pittsburgh student accused of assaulting 4 school staff members An 18-year-old is accused of assaulting staff members at a Pittsburgh school. Qvawn Rembert-Leonard, 18, faces four counts of aggravated assault in connection with a Jan. 30...

Gas prices are on the rise, and the worst is yet to come, an industry analyst says. The national average was about $3.23 Tuesday, AAA reported. That’s about 8 cents more than a week ago and 15 cents more than a month ago. In Pennsylvania, the average was at an...

An Arnold woman arrested on suspicion of assault was stunned several times with a Taser after police said she fought with officers inside a New Kensington holding cell Saturday. Arnold police said they arrested Alexis Shante Owens, 29, after responding to a call in the 400 block of 16th Street,...

An investigation of gunshots Sunday night in New Kensington turned up a “ghost gun,” police say. Officers recovered a 9mm handgun they say Brandon Keith Allen, 27, of New Kensington was carrying and threw away while police chased him along Leishman Avenue, according to a criminal complaint filed against Allen....

A lockdown of Valley High School in New Kensington was lifted shortly before noon Tuesday after a live firearm round found in a bathroom prompted a police search of the building. Superintendent Chris Sefcheck said the search by police and administrators found no other ammunition nor weapons in the building....

A 46-year-old Butler man died after being hit by two cars in Butler Township Saturday night, township police said. Patrick Bender Jr., 46, was walking east in the westbound lane of Kittanning Street near Portman Road around 8 p.m., police said. He was wearing dark clothing. Bender was first struck...

A weather system that was expected to bring rain changing to snow in the Pittsburgh area early Tuesday morning took a hard right toward the east coast. The forecast changed Monday afternoon, said Ashley Dougherty, a meteorologist with TribLive news partner WTAE. “We are still getting rain and snow east...

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Feb. 13: Northbound McKnight Road closed One lane on northbound McKnight Road in Ross reopened around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday after the northbound lanes were completely closed following a water main break, according to PennDOT. The road was closed...