Natasha Lindstrom stories, Page 23
Pittsburgh police: Possible child abduction attempt outside North Side elementary school
Police are investigating a possible attempt to abduct a child outside John Morrow Elementary School in Pittsburgh’s North Side. Officers responded to a call about the incident at Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Morrow K-8 campus on Davis Avenue in the city’s Brighton Heights neighborhood shortly after 4 p.m., Public Safety spokeswoman...
First of more than 100 dogs rescued from North Hills hoarder gets new home
Three weeks ago, Coconut was living in filth. The bright-eyed, bushy-tailed border collie was among 117 dogs stuck inside a Ross house in which the smell of urine, feces and ammonia was so strong that fire and animal rescue officials couldn’t enter it without wearing breathing masks. Many of the...
Police investigate incident involving ‘disheveled’ South Park girl
Police are investigating why medics found a 12-year-old girl in a “disoriented and disheveled state” at a homecoming bonfire in South Park, officials said. It’s unclear what may have happened. Allegheny County 911 dispatchers sent South Park police to Evans Park about 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Allegheny County police Lt. Mike...
Police investigate gunshots fired in Penn Hills residential neighborhood
Police are investigating a shooting Friday afternoon on a residential street in Penn Hills, officials said. No one was reported injured, Penn Hills police Chief Howard Burton said. Residents called 911 and told police they heard a series of gunshots fired shortly after 3 p.m. near Mark Drive and Grove...
Man ‘critical’ who was shot in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood
A man was in critical condition after getting shot Friday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood, officials said. Police received a report of several gunshots fired in the 1000 block of Brushton Avenue shortly before 1 p.m., Public Safety spokesman Chris Togneri said. Officers arrived to find a man with a...
Vandal breaks into St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland, damages window
Someone broke into St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood and caused minor damage, church officials said. “It is very sad to think that anyone would want to violate a church, and especially the sanctuary in the church,” the Rev. Kris Stubna wrote in an alert on St. Paul’s Facebook...
Man charged in stabbing outside Downtown Pittsburgh convenience store
Police have charged a man with stabbing another man after a dispute that led to a violent altercation early Wednesday outside a convenience store in Downtown Pittsburgh, court records show. Hayder Al Ghazi, 27, was booked into Allegheny County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault. Court records do not...
South Buffalo family stunned by $30K check from firefighters to help daughter with cancer
After a high-octane day at South Buffalo’s fire hall filled with tractor-pulling, face-painting and cheeseburger-munching, just before Ella Conroy went to bed Saturday night, the 6-year-old girl told her dad that she felt loved. That moment of gratitude from the typically shy girl would have been enough to delight Ella’s...
Baby taken from UPMC Children’s Hospital found in Tennessee
An 8-week-old baby taken from UPMC Children’s Hospital by his parents five days ago has been found. Ambrose Klingensmith was found with his parents, 32-year-old Jeannette Funnen, 32, and Daemon Klingensmith, 23, West Mifflin police said. The parents are in custody and the baby is in the care of a...
Rivers Casino unveils $5M lounge with 360 degrees of TV screens for sports gamblingVideo
While tailgaters sweated outside Heinz Field in the muggy weather, another black-and-gold-clad crowd gathered hours before Monday night’s Steelers game in the air-conditioned comfort of River Casino’s latest addition — a 5,500-square-foot lounge for sports gambling. People placing bets or simply checking out the new sportsbook digs relaxed in plush...
North Hills DUI checkpoint on Route 19 nets 5 arrests
Five people were arrested Saturday at a sobriety checkpoint along Route 19/Perry Highway in McCandless, officials said. The North Hills DUI Task Force conducted the checkpoint with help from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s Checkpoint Strike Force. Of more than 1,100 cars that passed through the stationary checkpoint near...
Police: Man kidnapped, raped girl, 7, he lured into Northview Heights basement
A man is accused of luring a 7-year-old girl into a basement and raping her in the Northview Heights section of Pittsburgh, court records show. Juwann Mitchell, 22, no address listed, faces charges of kidnapping, rape and several other felony counts in connection to the Sept. 15 assault of the...
Police: Man shot in drive-by shooting in Pittsburgh’s North Side
A man was injured in what he told police was a drive-by shooting Sunday morning in Pittsburgh’s North Side, officials said. Authorities received a report of shots fired at Cedar Avenue and Pressley Street near Allegheny Center shortly after 3:10 a.m., Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said. Police officers arrived...
Man shot in leg after altercation in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood
A man was shot in the leg in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood following an altercation that involved several men early Sunday, police said. Police received reports of shots fired near the 2500 block of West Liberty Avenue shortly before 1:30 a.m., Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said. Officers arrived to find...
Pittsburgh activist charged with harassment of Exxon gas station clerk
A Pittsburgh community activist who helped organize protests following an assault on two customers at a North Side gas station has been sent a summons for allegedly harassing one of the gas station employees on Facebook. Amber Sloan, 46, of the city’s Uptown neighborhood faces a charge of harassment by...
South Buffalo’s tractor pull galvanizes community in support of girl, 6, with cancerVideo
At 6 years old, Ella Conroy has plenty in common with kids her age. The South Buffalo girl likes to build houses of Legos and make friendship bracelets. She is a Girl Scout and cheers for youth football players across the Alle-Kiski Valley. But Ella has to spend at least...
5 in Western Pa. accused of cashing Social Security checks for dead relatives, roommate
A grand jury in Pittsburgh has accused five Western Pennsylvanians of defrauding the federal government by receiving thousands of dollars in benefits in the names of dead relatives and household members, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said. The defendants each face one-count indictments that allege they accepted benefits to which...
Heroin dealer with ties to Pittsburgh, Penn Hills, McKees Rocks gets 7 1/2 years in prison
A former Pittsburgh resident who pleaded guilty to dealing heroin will spend 7 1/2 years behind bars for drug and firearms violations, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Maurice Dewayne Tinsley Jr., 38, who has ties to Penn Hills, McKees Rocks and Pittsburgh’s North Side, was convicted of plotting to sell heroin...
Police seek help from public, FBI to find accused East Liberty ‘serial bank robber’
Pittsburgh police are seeking help from the FBI and public to find an East Liberty man whom officials described as “a serial bank robber.” On Wednesday, authorities issued two warrants for the arrest of Shawn Stevens, 49. Public Safety spokesman Chris Togneri said Stevens is accused of robbing two banks...
Police: Man still in critical condition after being shot multiple times in Arlington Heights
A man remained in critical condition Wednesday night after getting shot multiple times in Pittsburgh’s Arlington Heights neighborhood, police said. Police officers and medics responded to a report of gunfire in the 3100 block of Cordell Place shortly before 12:30 a.m., Public Safety spokesman Chris Togneri said. They found a...
Venus Williams shows off Downtown Pittsburgh’s skyline, gold Sister BridgesVideo
Tennis star Venus Williams enjoyed the views Tuesday afternoon as she cruised across the Allegheny River from Downtown Pittsburgh to the North Shore. Williams, 39, took to Twitter to showcase the city’s skyline and Aztec gold-painted Sister Bridges. She posted a short video of herself riding as a passenger in...
Duquesne man who bought 23 guns for felons gets nearly 3 years in prison
A Duquesne man will spend almost three years behind bars for a straw-buyer scheme that helped get at least 23 guns to felons prohibited from owning firearms, federal prosecutors said Monday. Khalil Armstrong, 27, also must spend three years on probation after his release from federal prison, U.S. Attorney Scott...
Highlands choir teacher’s passion fueled by seeing his students shine
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series that features Alle-Kiski Valley residents and the notable things they do. Michael Zeiler kept his end-of-the-school-year tradition a secret for nearly a decade. After his students had left, as Zeiler packed up his classroom for the summer, he’d take a seat...
Feds: Beaver County man admits to trying to sell 5,700 fake Viagra, Cialis pills
A Beaver County man admitted to plotting to sell more than 5,700 fake Viagra and Cialis pills in Western Pennsylvania, officials said. Rahnon Carter, 39, pleaded guilty at the federal courthouse in Pittsburgh to one count of holding a counterfeit drug for distribution, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said. The...
Beaver County man accused of selling heroin-fentanyl mix that led to a death
A Beaver County man is accused of selling a mixture of heroin and fentanyl that resulted in a person dying, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Zachary Martin Cymbalak, 32, who resides in the borough of Freedom, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on two counts of narcotics charges...

