Chuck Biedka stories, Page 3
Woman injured in Springdale Township crash
A woman was injured early Monday afternoon when the Chevrolet Impala she was driving slammed into a utility pole in Springdale Township. An Allegheny Valley police officer said the woman might have suffered a medical problem before crashing around 1 p.m. on Freeport Road just south of the New Kensington...
2 men claiming they were sold bad weed accused of breaking down Harrison door
Two men claiming they were sold bad drugs kicked in the rear door of a Harrison apartment Friday and threatened a man inside, according to police. The men demanded their money back and left after the man inside the apartment called 911, according to criminal complaints filed in the case....
Braddock woman pleads guilty to federal drug charge
A 55-year-old Braddock woman has pleaded guilty to a federal count of drug trafficking, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Pittsburgh. Prosecutors said Paula Debaker had conspired with a member of the neighborhood street gang SCO to obtain drugs and allowed people to use her home to cook powder...
Man convicted of attempted murder, robbery at large after skipping last day of trial
A Huntingdon County man convicted Thursday in Armstrong County for attempted homicide is on the run, state police and court officials said Friday. Willie James Lunsford, 34, of Mount Union, had posted $200,000 bond on Aug. 6 to await a trial that started Monday. He took part in his trial...
New Kensington teen accused of shooting man in Vandergrift
A New Kensington teen is accused of shooting a man in a leg in Vandergrift last month when the man allegedly told him he didn’t have any drugs for sale. Court records show Ryleik Amitre Arbuckle, 15, is charged as an adult. A criminal complaint said Arbuckle pistol-whipped the 20-year-old...
West Deer Christmas gift program a ‘labor of love,’ police chief says
When it comes to Christmas shopping, West Deer police Chief Jon Lape has an eye for deals. That pays off when you’re shopping for hundreds of children. Lape has spearheaded a campaign for the past 23 years to provide gifts to needy families in West Deer, and he buys most...
Missing New Kensington youth found
A missing New Kensington youth has been found, police said. Police and the family of Da’ Montae Brooks, 13, had been looking for him since 10 p.m. last Thursday. Detective Sgt. Paul Manke said Monday he has been found. No other details are available....
Bank heist getaway driver gets 3-year sentence in robbery of Pittsburgh bank
A bank heist getaway driver was sentenced Wednesday to three years prison, federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh said. Mark Hammond, 55, was convicted in connection with the Jan. 10, 2018, robbery of the Huntington Bank on Smithfield Street in Pittsburgh’s Downtown. According to court records, Hammond and his co-defendant, Alonzo Dunbar,...
Lyft driver from Harrison accused of exposing himself, groping passenger
A Harrison man accused of exposing himself to a woman and groping her last month while driving for the ride-sharing service Lyft was ordered Wednesday to stand trial. Indiana Township police said Douglas Timothy Moore, 53, picked up a woman who requested a ride to West Deer and then drove...
Harrison police holding drug take-back event
Harrison police will hold a drug take-back event Thursday for township residents. “Medicine that languishes in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse or abuse and flushing them or throwing them away present potential safety and health hazards,” said Harrison police Chief Mike Klein. Unwanted or out-of-date prescriptions and...
Look-alike Oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl worries officials
Reducing the number of legitimate painkiller pills being sold illegally on the street is having an unintended consequence: Mexican drug cartels are now shipping potentially lethal look-alikes that mimic oxy but contain fentanyl. Oxycodone can come in the form of a blue 30-milligram pill that is among the most popular...
Prosecutors in Pittsburgh seek to confiscate items tied to alleged drug conspiracy
Federal prosecutors said they have started the process of confiscating cash, a car, jewelry and guns found when agents raided houses where four men allegedly sold drugs in the Braddock area last spring. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Pittsburgh said Tuesday that two of the men had pleaded guilty to...
Leechburg adds part-time police officerVideo
Miranda Tasker is completing her second week as a part-time police officer in Leechburg. Tasker, 28, originally of Butler, also works as a part-timer in Allegheny Township and Vandergrift and serves as an Air Force Reserve security officer in Youngstown. Tasker is an Indiana University of Pennsylvania police academy graduate....
Harrison police arrest man, woman near township police station allegedly with cocaine; gun found near toddler
A Sheldon Park man accused of selling drugs close to the Harrison police station was found sitting on a couch with a loaded pistol under a seat cushion and a 1-year-old nearby, police said. According to an affidavit, no one answered the door when police serving an arrest warrant yelled...
2 men plead guilty for selling heroin, cocaine in Braddock area
Two men pleaded guilty in federal court last week to narcotics trafficking, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced Tuesday. Larry Dandridge, 24, of Monroeville pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin while Damien Franklin, 26, of Trafford, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Two...
7th defendant pleads guilty in alleged $80 million Medicaid fraud case
A Pittsburgh woman pleaded guilty to federal charges of Medicaid fraud and conspiracy. Tionne Street, 48, was accused of defrauding Medicaid for about $70,000 and was one of about 16 people who were indicted on the alleged conspiracy involving about $80 million in overall fraud. Street is the seventh person...
Meadows off-track betting in Harmar robbed
A man claiming to have a gun forced an employee to open the cash room at The Meadows off-track betting facility in Harmar about a hour before the facility was scheduled to open at 11 a.m. Monday, police said. The man already was inside the locked building and surprised the...
200 show love Sunday for Leechburg Community LibraryVideo
The Leechburg Community Library has only been reopened about 2½ months, but its growing community support was easy to see at a fundraiser Sunday. At least 200 people bought $8 tickets to take part in a benefit spaghetti dinner. By 2 p.m., a gigantic 50-50 container was more than half-full...
Penn Hills police investigating shooting
Penn Hills police are investigating a shooting of a man found along the 7500 block of Manilla Street near the Verona line. According to Allegheny County 911 messages, the man was hit more than once. A 911 supervisor said there was a heavy police and rescue crew presence at Manilla...
Pittsburgh police searching for city man suspected of shooting 2 teens in Carrick
Pittsburgh police detectives have an arrest warrant for a city man wanted in connection with the shooting of two teenagers in Carrick on Thursday. Cody Smith, 23, of Pittsburgh is wanted on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, robbery in addition to other charges, police said Saturday. Anyone with information...
Runners ignore cold day to kick off Red Kettle season for Brackenridge Salvation ArmyVideo
Chassity Mays has a goal of racing in every state. On Saturday, Mays of Brownsburg, Ind., turned in the best time for a woman racing in the inaugural Red Kettle Run for a Reason. The 5K race is a fundraiser for the Salvation Army Allegheny Valley Worship and Service Center...
Allegheny County detectives injured arresting armed Hays youth in Homestead
A pistol-toting Hays youth is accused of fighting two Allegheny County police detectives before he was subdued in Homestead on Friday night. Police said Jymein Brian Chandler, 17, who was already convicted as an adult in June, was walking along 16th Avenue in Homestead where the two unidentified detectives were...
At least 2 hurt in Route 910 crash in Richland
At least two people were injured in a multi-vehicle crash along the 3800 block of Gibsonia Road in Richland on Saturday afternoon. The wreck on the road, also known as Route 910, was reported to police and Allegheny County 911 at about 2:20 p.m. Northern Regional Police are investigating. No...
Medical examiner: Penn Hills man whose car crashed into Plum pool drowned
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office on Saturday said a driver whose car crashed into a backyard swimming pool in Plum last August drowned. William Gibson, 49, of Penn Hills was driving along Repp Road at about 7:40 a.m. on Aug. 21 when his car went off the road, crossed...
West Deer police launching annual Christmas toy drive
When a West Deer couple heard about a neighbor’s financial needs during the Christmas season more than 20 years ago, they donated $500 to a police gift program, police Chief Jon Lape said. That program, and the family’s annual gift, have become a tradition in West Deer, Lape said. Toys...
