Chuck Biedka stories, Page 15

A 46-year-old contractor is accused of home improvement fraud and theft in North Apollo and Apollo last year. Charles Todd Doland of Woodward Avenue, Apollo, is accused of accepting almost $11,000 in upfront money but not doing the work. He allegedly took a $4,700 down payment to install a metal...

State troopers arrested three people Monday in Parks and charged them with possessing or selling methamphetamine. Troopers said Steven Taylor Green, 43, of Erie was at the residence of Liana Nicole Zaffuto, 32, and Jeffrey Shawn Lookhart, 34. The troopers were at a residence in the North Vandergrift section of...

PennDOT officials on Tuesday said numerous maintenance projectshave been scheduled for Westmoreland County this week. Crack or joint sealing will take on Leechburg Road in Lower Burrell, Bushy Run Road in Penn Township and Belle Vernon Monessen Road in Rostraver Township. Shoulder repairs will take place on Baker School Road...

A 40-year-old Homestead man was shot in the hand in Kittanning on Friday over a drug debt, state police said. Police said the incident happened in an apartment along the 100 block of South Jefferson Street at about 9:45 a.m. Willie Lunsford, 33, of Mount Union; Eric McKenzie, 32, of...

An Armstrong County man already required to register as a sex offender is accused of raping a mentally disabled teenage girl last year, according to state police. Dwayne Edward Hawk, 52, of Manor Township also is charged with statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and three related charges. He was...

A Leechburg man was convicted Wednesday of 52 counts related to child pornography, Armstrong County District Attorney Katie Charlton said. Timothy Norris, 40, formerly of Third Street, was accused of having at least 50 images of children engaged in sex acts and then distributing those images on the Internet. He...

Two people escaped a house fire early Friday along West Deer’s Quigley Road, but five pets died inside, officials said. Homeowner Justin Johoda, 33, was awakened and alerted of the fire shortly after 5 a.m. by a friend who had been sleeping on a couch, according to West Deer police...

About 25 Leechburg-area Christians ignored nonstop rain to observe Good Friday in preparation for Easter Sunday. The umbrella-toting group, led by pastors, hammered 3-foot-tall replica crosses at Veterans Park and key intersections in the borough. The group turned heads everywhere it went. At each stop, Bible readings recalled the fulfillment...

A preliminary hearing for a Pittsburgh man accused in an April 5 murder in Arnold has been delayed until next month. Shawden L. Ross, 33, of North Braddock Avenue is accused of fatally shooting Lamont Simmons, 27. Ross’ hearing was moved to May 6 because a witness wasn’t available to...

Two Akron, Ohio women are accused of driving to the Pittsburgh Mills and other Pennsylvania malls almost daily to shoplift clothing later sold on Facebook, Frazer police Chief Terry Kuhns said. Ocean Rain McDay, 22, and Stasha Lashell Heller, 23, are accused of stealing clothing from Victoria’s Secret and JCPenney...

Alcohol played a role in the Feb. 27 death of a North Apollo woman whose car crashed into a utility pole in Apollo and flipped over several times, according to the Armstrong County Coroner. Jacqueline C. Hellein, 64, was alone in the car and died at the scene. She was...

The Officer Derek Kotecki Scholarship Fund will have distributed $42,500 to area students when awards are presented this spring at graduation time. Kotecki, a Lower Burrell native, a husband and father of two, served his hometown as a police officer for 18 years, including many as its police dog officer....

The Kittanning state police station’s Trooper of the Year has prevented numerous tragedies on the roads in his part of the Alle-Kiski Valley, his supervisors said. Trooper Nick Elliott, of Butler, helped arrest about 100 people for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol last year. “That’s 100 potential...

A Cadogan woman is accused of selling cocaine in Armstrong County. Shana Lee Warcholak, 30, of First Street, is accused of selling two packages of powdered cocaine this month in the Ford City area. County detectives say Warcholak contacted a person who is an informant for the county drug task...

More Route 28 construction is scheduled in East Deer through Monday afternoon. PennDOT said the the single-lane restrictions on northbound Route 28 will happen at the bridge over Bailies Run Road from 7 p.m. today through 2 p.m. Monday, weather permitting. Crews will conduct approach slab work. The overall $34.34...

A former Pittsburgh man accused of committing several armed robberies in late 2014 now faces additional charges in the case against him, according to U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady. George Wilson III, 37, has been in federal custody since being named in an 11-count indictment in June 2015. The new,...

A Washington County woman has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for giving a man a deadly dose of fentanyl in Bridgeville almost three years ago. Latoya Rosiek, 34, entered the plea Wednesday before Allegheny County Judge Randal Todd. In exchange for the plea, the District Attorney’s Office agreed to a...

A 41-year-old Gilpin woman was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital Thursday after her bicycle and a car collided near the Kiski Car Wash in Allegheny Township. The mid-morning wreck at Route 56 and the Route 56 Bypass briefly snarled traffic. Police Sgt. Dan Uncapher said Melissa Kunkle of Hungry Hollow...

A Pittsburgh man suspected of rifling through unlocked cars early Monday was arrested as he drove from the scene, Buffalo Township police said Wednesday. At about 3:15 a.m. Monday, Patrolman John Gillette said spotted a figure in dark clothes going through items in a black Nissan sedan that was parked...

An Indiana County man accused of having drugs in a car that police said they pulled over in North Apollo because it had a burned-out license plate light is headed to trial. Jacob Shane Penrose, 31, of Clune, appeared for a preliminary hearing Wednesday before District Judge James Andring in...

Those who rely on Leechburg’s food bank are benefiting from two large donations this month. For at least the third time, the Leechburg Elks lodge donated 1,000 pounds of groceries valued at $2,000. The groceries were purchased locally and, to the delight of food bank volunteers, delivered. An anonymous Alle-Kiski...

Pittsburgh drone racers will get to know part of the Alle-Kiski Valley. On May 17, the Pittsburgh Drone Masters will hold the first of four drone races at River Forest Country Club in Allegheny Township, club officer Dan Calig said. The drones must be flown through gates or flags and...