Chuck Biedka stories, Page 17
Police: Arnold man ripped purse from elderly woman in Harmar
An Arnold man is accused of snatching an 89-year-old woman’s purse Monday morning moments after she cashed a $300 check at a Harmar bank. The suspect, Brandon Lee Crowe, 37, was arrested later in the day with the help of surveillance photos and information from witnesses, according to police. Harmar...
Freeport man accused of pointing handgun at women
Freeport police say they used surveillance camera video to find a man accused of pointing a loaded pistol at two women and threatening to shoot them. The women said they saw a man, later identified by police as Michael Anthony Rivera, stumbling along a sidewalk on Fourth Street at Market...
Springdale Manor resident caused fire after falling asleep while smoking
A resident of the Springdale Manor high-rise fell asleep while smoking and caused a small fire in his apartment Monday morning, officials said. “Fortunately, the smoke detector woke him up and he dumped water on the fire in the carpet,” said Allegheny County Housing Authority police Sgt. Ed Mogus. Had...
Man drives over New Kensington wall onto railroad tracks 15 feet below
The driver of a car that went off New Kensington’s Constitution Boulevard onto railroad tracks at least 15 feet below managed to get himself out of the overturned car safely after the wreck, according to police. New Kensington police Chief Bob Deringer said the driver, Ricky Burkett of Arnold, will...
Man facing prison, fine for leading $2 million counterfeit money ring
A U.S. citizen living in the Republic of Uganda pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Pittsburgh to making and distributing about $2 million in counterfeit money, including more than $200,000 circulated in Oakland, Carnegie and McCandless, prosecutors said Friday. Ryan Andrew Gustafson, 31, also know as Jack Farrel and...
Police: Racing may have caused Allegheny Township wreckVideo
A woman escaped serious injury Friday morning when the SUV she was driving was forced off Allegheny Township’s South Leechburg Hill Road by a car that police say may have been racing another vehicle. The crash happened just after 8:30 a.m. According to police at the scene, the woman’s small...
Student art again honors Arnold firefighter contributions
Valley Junior-Senior High School students have again painted ceiling tiles to send a lasting “thank-you” to Arnold firefighters. The idea came from firefighter Wendy Duncan of Arnold five years ago. She is also an aide for special need students at the school. “I’m a life member of Arnold No. 2....
Verdict in Frazer woman’s trial for murder not expected until next week
A Frazer woman accused of killing her husband will have to wait until next week to learn her fate . Allegheny County Judge Jill Rangos, who heard the case against Teresa M. Drum of Crawford Run Road as a non-jury trial, said Thursday she will hand down a verdict on...
Witness: Gunshot residue ‘inconclusive’ for Frazer woman charged in husband’s death
Closing arguments are scheduled Thursday morning in Allegheny County Court for a Frazer woman accused of killing her husband two years ago after they argued about money and her having burned a casserole. Teresa Drum, 40, is charged with the Feb. 27, 2017, homicide of her husband, Dennis Drum Sr.,...
Frazer woman confronted with inconsistencies during second day of murder trial
A Frazer woman accused of the 2017 homicide of her husband was confronted Tuesday by angry words from Allegheny County detectives. The accusations and terse words were on a videotape shown on the second day of Teresa Drum’s trial on charges of murdering her husband. Prosecutors said the tapes show...
Police say Frazer murder scene, photo didn’t match
One of the first police officers to arrive at the scene of a 2017 fatal shooting in Frazer testified in an Allegheny County court Monday that he found the dead man clutching a loaded pistol in his right hand. The testimony came during the first day of the non- jury...
Bumped compact car bounces into Tahoe at foot of Tarentum Bridge
A compact car that had been struck by a truck Friday afternoon jumped a curb and smashed into a new pickup on display at Nick Chevrolet at the foot of the Tarentum Bridge in Tarentum. A Lower Burrell woman told Tarentum police she was stopped the ramp from West Seventh...
Beaver Falls woman accused of misusing $13,000 in federal housing money
A Beaver Falls woman is accused of misusing about $13,500 of federal housing assistance payments. Janile Fielding, 56, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. According to the indictment, from about June 2013 until about May 2017, Fielding used housing assistance payments for her other expenses....
Man stabbed in face downtown Thursday afternoon, sent to hospital
A man is accused of stabbing another man in the face in downtown Pittsburgh on Thursday afternoon, a Pittsburgh police spokesman said. The fight in the 200 block of Ninth Street was reported to police at about 4 p.m. According to a preliminary report, both men were fighting when a...
50-year-old man shot in leg in Homestead on Thursday night
A 50-year-old man was shot in an upper leg Thursday at about 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Homestead, Homestead police Chief Jeff DeSimone said. The man was taken to a local hospital, and DeSimone said said “It appeared to be a non-life threatening injury.” The shooting happened near the intersection of...
Second $10,000 state Leopold award offered to farmers, foresters
The state Farm Bureau is encouraging area farmers and foresters to apply for the Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award. The award honors people whose care and management of natural resources goes beyond what others do. The Sand County Foundation will present the Leopold Conservation Award to private landowners in 13 states...
Penn Hills man wanted by Washington Township picked up on assault charge
A Penn Hills man accused of separate assaults Wednesday was arrested that night in Penn Hills. Daniel R. Recklein, 34, was arrested on charges of simple assault, attempted strangulation and harassment stemming from a case there. Washington Township police allege that Recklein hit a woman there also on Wednesday. He...
Washington Township crash injures woman when car goes over hillside
Washington Township police are investigating a crash Wednesday afternoon on Route 380 in which one car went over a hillside, trapping the driver. Sgt. Jason Montgomery said a Parks Township man driving a pickup crossed in front of a Washington Township woman’s vehicle, and the collision forced her car partway...
Police: Missing McKeesport man found safe
A McKeesport man who had been reported as missing has been found, police said Thursday. McKeesport police posted on Facebook that Charles Devon Surratt, 42, had be found and was safe. Police thanked the public for their assistance....
West Mifflin man, 47, who once served 15 in prison for drugs, sentenced to another 2 years
A West Mifflin man who previously served state and federal prison time for selling drugs was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh to serve two years in prison for possessing drugs. Stanley Church, 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon. The judge gave him credit for time...
Murder-for-hire scheme, which actually was a federal sting, gets Pittsburgh man 8 years in prison
A former Pittsburgh man was ordered to spend eight years in prison for an interstate murder-for-hire plan that involved killing his wife. Brad Lanese, 52, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon. Prosecutors say Lanese and two others, including his wife, operated a large marijuana grow operation in...
Last of 9 indicted in Pittsburgh federal court enters guilty plea to selling crack cocaine
The last suspect accused by the Drug Enforcement Administration in a 2016 drug conspiracy has pleaded guilty. Mark Fisher, 40, of Pittsburgh is the last of nine people to admit guilt to taking part in the cocaine conspiracy. Fisher entered the plea last Wednesday before U.S. District Judge David Stewart...
Leechburg police seeking known suspect accused of robbing Market Street Sunoco
Leechburg police are searching for a borough man who is suspected of robbing the Sunoco store on Market Street on Tuesday night. Police are looking for Travis M. Haun, 36. Leechburg Officer in Charge Jason Schaeffer alleges Haun went into the store at 265 Market St. about 11 p.m. “When...
Akron man sentenced to prison for selling cocaine
A former Akron, Ohio, man was sentenced in federal district court Pittsburgh to serve more than 17 years in prison for selling large amounts of cocaine. Adolph Brown, 48, was sentenced to serve 17 ½ years in prison following his conviction of possession with intent to distribute more than a...
Peters drug treatment doctor must pay hefty income tax restitution and serve detention
A Peters psychiatrist who pleaded guilty in federal court in Pittsburgh to filing false income tax returns learned Monday he will serve time in a halfway house and home detention as well as pay more than $300,000 in restitution. U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab ordered Dr. Allan W. Clark,...
