Chuck Biedka stories, Page 12
Gilpin native promoted to lead state police training academy
A Gilpin native is directing the Pennsylvania State Police Academy, where he graduated 32 years ago. Thomas Dubovi was promoted to major and director of the state police bureau of training and education. His promotion ceremony was Friday at the academy at Hershey. “I thought, if I made sergeant, I...
Volunteers raising money for Upper Burrell’s Clark family
Upper Burrell volunteer firefighters are planning a benefit dinner to help a family known for helping others that was displaced by a fire last month. The Clark family’s house at 205 Rocky Lane house was damaged by an accidental fire on May 18. Nine fire departments fought the blaze. It...
Gateway Rehab has new medical director
A Butler physician is Gateway Rehabilitation’s new director of physician services. Dr. George Lloyd is a surgeon who has refocused on addiction counseling since 2000 and is a member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. About 18 years ago, he established Evidence Based Recovery Inc., a medical practice treating...
Leechburg police seek help to add camerasVideo
Leechburg police say they are at a dangerous disadvantage. Officers in their basement office can’t see who is ringing a bell or knocking on the locked entrance door upstairs. The door doesn’t have a window so they can’t see out even when on the stairway. But technology can fix that...
Man accused of threatening woman with pistol in Vandergrift
A West Virginia man put a pistol in a woman’s mouth during a fight Wednesday night in Vandergrift for “disrespecting him,” police said. Henry Cherro McFadden, 44, of Barrackville, W.Va., is accused of arguing with the woman about 10:30 p.m. at a home along Spruce Street, police said. Police said...
Drug trafficking, gun get Pittsburgh man almost 6 years in prison
A Pittsburgh man was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh Wednesday to almost six years in federal prison for trafficking drugs and having a firearm. Senior U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Daelon Hill-Johnson, 21, for possession with intent to distribute the synthetic painkiller fentanyl...
Washington Township police charge man following alleged bar assault, chase
An Irwin man is accused of firing at least one gunshot into a hillside outside a Washington Township bar Tuesday evening and then leading police on a high-speed chase. Michael Habura, 45, faces multiple charges including assaulting a woman. According to police, patrons of Shootin’ Bull Tavern told them they...
Kittanning state trooper lauded for anti-drugged driving work
If you drive while under the influence of drugs, you’re likely to meet Chris Robbins. It won’t turn out well for you. A state trooper from the Kittanning station, Cpl. Chris Robbins is one of fewer than 200 police officers in Pennsylvania certified as drug-recognition experts. In other words, he’s...
Pennsylvania’s new class of drug recognition experts hopes to make roads safer
Years of responding to deadly crashes along Route 28 spurred O’Hara patrolman Benjamin Wolfson to seek additional training in the hope it might help save lives. “Almost all of (the deadly crashes) had some type of driving-under-the-influence cause,” Wolfson said, adding that PennDOT statistics show nearly half of all crashes...
Wilkinsburg man pleads guilty to child porn charges
A Wilkinsburg man pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Pittsburgh to having child pornography, prosecutors said. U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said Tuesday that Jason Gerade Harris, Jr., 25, pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab. Prosecutors said FBI agents got a tip from a Minnesota...
Pioneering River Forest owners to host Women’s Golf Day event
Allegheny Township’s River Forest Country Club will participate Tuesday in the fourth annual Women’s Golf Day by holding a scramble and luncheon featuring former LPGA golfer Missie Berteotti. Women’s Golf Day events will be held at more than 900 venues in 52 countries in conjunction with International Women’s Day, according...
‘Whitey’ Williams taught scores of firefighters how to perform task safelyVideo
Teaching a kid how to use a firefighter’s oxygen gear was an opportunity for Bratton T. “Whitey” Williams Jr. “He already was a legend,” recalls the kid, Eddie Saliba Jr., who now is the New Kensington Bureau of Fire’s assistant chief. “I was about 10 years old. My dad was...
Handling complaints, scheduling all in day’s work for Vandergrift police chiefVideo
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series that features Alle-Kiski Valley police chiefs and highlights the work they do and the challenges they face. Just as it does everywhere, opiate addiction spawns crime in Vandergrift. Police Chief Joe Caporali said there are fewer overdoses in recent months, but...
Severe storms expected to return
A second round of storms began walloping communities across Western Pennsylvania on Wednesday afternoon before many of them could clean up from the first round the night before. The overnight round of storms brought more than 4 inches of rain to some areas of Butler and Beaver counties, including Zelienople,...
Freeport man pulled unharmed from collapsed basementVideo
A basement window became an avenue of escape for a Freeport man Tuesday night. Just before 11 p.m., heavy rain sent water flowing down a steep hill behind Stewart Street. At one house, it was just too much. Suddenly, a concrete patio and basement steps came crashing down. Officials said...
Braddock man sentenced to 18 months for cocaine trafficking
A Braddock man was ordered to serve 18 months in federal prison for trafficking crack cocaine in the Greenway Projects in Pittsburgh’s West End. Bryan Smith, 24, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab. Prosecutors said, in 2017, the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration conducted wire taps...
Wanted West Leechburg man found in Erie County
An Armstrong County man accused of drunken driving and running from police in a separate case was arrested by a fugitive task force last week. Carlin Mitchell Quinn, 28, of West Leechburg hid from authorities for more than a month before the arrest, police said. “He told police he was...
Armstrong County creates court program to help veterans get back on trackVideo
Armstrong County veterans who are accepted into a new court program after running afoul of the law will be expected to do what they did while in uniform: follow orders and work hard to accomplish a mission. In this case, the mission is for veterans to get their life back...
Police: Change, a wallet taken from unlocked cars in Frazer
At least nine cars in Frazer were broken into late Wednesday and early Thursday, township police Chief Terry Kuhns said. The suspect or suspects took mainly change from cars along Bollinger Lane and Crescent Drive off Bakerstown Road. A wallet also was taken. The cars were unlocked, Kuhns said. “I...
Jefferson Hills police seek information on interrupted burglary
An attempted burglary early Thursday led to a chase in Jefferson Hills, police said. Police were sent to a residence along the 100 block of Walter’s Lane at about 1:20 a.m. An officer saw a suspect running from the scene. The officer chased the suspect, who wore dark clothing. Some...
16-year-old accused of Sheldon Park arson staying in Shuman Detection Center
A 16-year-old Harrison boy accused of setting fire to a Sheldon Park apartment building that caused about $500,000 damage last month was ordered by juvenile court Tuesday to stay in the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center until his hearing is held, an Allegheny County detective confirmed. Two women and a wheelchair-bound...
Vandergrift house fire was arson, police say
A Tuesday morning house fire in Vandergrift was arson, state police Tpr. Seth Hellman said Wednesday. The intentionally set blaze caused about $3,500 in damage, mostly to flooring to a vacant house at at 924 Holland St. , Vandergrift fire Chief Steve Potoka said. There were no injuries. Patrolman Willie...
Munhall man gets almost 8 years for having heroin, stolen pistol
A Munhall man found in 2018 with a large garbage bag filled with bricks of heroin, and a little more than $25,000 was sentenced Tuesday to serve almost 8 years in federal prison for possession of heroin with intent to distribute it and illegal gun possession, federal authorities said. Senior...
Pittsburgh man pleads guilty to having fentanyl
A Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh to having fentanyl with the intent of selling it. William Lewis, 30, entered the plea before Senior United States District Court Judge David S. Cercone. Prosecutors said that, on Aug. 5, 2017, Pittsburgh police searched Lewis’ residence in the...
Stolen Fawn race car found, trailer still missing
A race car stolen from Fawn has been found, but police still are looking for the trailer it was on. “It was recovered in West Mifflin,” Fawn police Chief Tim Mayberry said Monday. The customized Dodge Neon was reported stolen from a lot along Lumber Drive, off Bull Creek Road,...
