Paul Peirce stories, Page 17
Public’s help sought in finding Ligonier burglars
Ligonier Valley police are asking the public’s help after a pair of businesses along Route 30 in Ligonier were burglarized early Saturday. Chief John E. Berger said officers responding to an alarm at Rick’s Tobacco Outlet at 2:28 a.m. found the drive-thru window had been forced open and broken. Once...
ShotSpotter alert lead Pittsburgh police to shooting in Homewood
A man was seriously injured late Monday after being shot in his lower back in Homewood, according to Pittsburgh police. Officers from the city’s Zone 5 station found the victim after responding to a ShotSpotter gunfire alert for the 7100 block of Frankstown Avenue around 10:55 p.m. The man who...
Match 6 Lotto jackpot ticket worth $3.74M sold in North Huntingdon
A jackpot Match 6 Lotto ticket worth $3.74 million was sold Sunday at a Sheetz store in North Huntingdon, state lottery officials announced. Lottery officials said the ticket was bought at the convenience store location on Ronda Court, near the Walmart along Route 30. The ticket matched all six winning...
State police fire marshal investigating Delmont blaze
A state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of a weekend fire that gutted the garage of an abandoned house in Delmont, according to fire officials. Fire Chief Don Cline reported that firefighters quickly contained the fire in the two-car attached garage at the East White Oak Drive home...
Penn Township man charged by police with firing handgun at vacant home
A 49-year-old Penn Township man was arrested last week on charges of firing multiple rounds from a handgun at a nearby home. Jon P. Petrush was arraigned on charges of criminal mischief and discharging a firearm at a structure by township police. He was ordered held in the Westmoreland County...
Pittsburgh police make arrest after suspected meth lab found in Squirrel Hill
Pittsburgh police arrested one man and obtained an arrest warrant for a second man after a suspected methamphetamine lab was discovered early Sunday in a Squirrel Hill apartment. About 1:15 a.m. Sunday, police were called to a residence in the 6300 block of Darlington Road after a resident reported a...
Pittsburgh police looking for missing 11-year-old boy
Pittsburgh police detectives are asking the public’s help locating a missing 11-year-old boy. Ronnell Miller is 5 feet tall, weighs 100 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes. According to police, he was last seen in Homestead wearing a red hoodie and blue jeans. Miller is also known to...
Man arrested after Ligonier Township police chase
Ligonier Valley police say a 27-year-old man who resisted arrest and led officers on a 3 mile chase in a stolen car along Route 30 was arrested and jailed on $200,000 bond. Jesse Vaughn Lawson of New Alexandria is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, driving on a...
South Greensburg man charged with assaulting police at Hempfield Area High School
State police say a South Greensburg man showed up Friday morning at Hempfield Area High School, demanding to deliver a letter to the principal regarding the district’s mask policy before he fought with a school policeman and refused to leave. Troopers arrested Richard M. Bettis, 55, on charges of aggravated...
Detectives arrest Hempfield man after seizing heroin, Xanax, firearms, $11K from home
Acting on tips, the Westmoreland County Drug Task Forced served a warrant at a Hempfield home this week and seized 61 bricks of heroin, Xanax pills, three handguns, a rifle, two Tasers and about $11,000, according to court documents. After the search, county detectives charged the homeowner, Chad J. Gilbert,...
Troopers: Speed a factor in Hempfield crash that injured 2
A Hempfield man was driving a 2003 Chevrolet Corvette “at an excessive rate of speed” Thursday when he lost control as he rounded a curve on Route 130 and crashed, state police said. David W. Henderson, 61, and his passenger, Louis Tatroe, 59, were flown by medical helicopter to UPMC...
Documents on Greensburg attorney’s death in YMCA sauna say he died of ‘natural causes’
Documents from emergency responders who were called after the body of a Greensburg attorney was discovered last year inside the sauna of the Greensburg YMCA run counter to multiple claims made in a lawsuit filed by the man’s family. The two-count wrongful death lawsuit, filed in Westmoreland County court by...
Lines form early in Greensburg for postal service jobsVideo
With all the recent talk about employers having trouble finding employees, Lenore Thomas, officer in charge of the Greensburg Post Office, admitted to being a bit surprised Wednesday when a line of applicants began forming for a postal service job fair well before the 11 a.m. start time. As the...
South Huntingdon man charged with brandishing handgun in property dispute
A South Huntingdon man is charged with aggravated assault and a weapons violation after police say he pointed a handgun at a neighbor’s head during a dispute over a property line. Jesse A. Fello, 27, was arrested after state troopers viewed a surveillance video of the incident and spoke with...
Traffic detoured along I-70 to remove tractor trailer near New Stanton, PennDOT says
A section of I-70 eastbound near New Stanton was closed until about 11 a.m. Wednesday as crews removed an overturned tractor trailer that crashed earlier in the morning. PennDOT District 12 reported the eastbound lanes were closed between Exits 51-57 for approximately one hour to remove the truck that overturned...
Woman jailed after attempted car theft in Hempfield, troopers say
A Braddock woman is in the Westmoreland County Prison on $25,000 bond, charged with assaulting a man at a Hempfield convenience store early Saturday during an unsuccessful attempt to steal his car. Jesse Jamar Burton, 34, was arrested by state police on multiple assault and attempted robbery charges after the...
Scottdale man charged with sexually assaulting boy
A Scottdale man was arrested on multiple charges of sexually assaulting a boy over 18 months between 2016 and 2017, according to state police. Scott F. Rys, 47, was arraigned last week on charges of corruption of minors, endangering the welfare of children and indecent assault and three counts of...
Seven Springs Mountain Resort hopes to hire 1,000 for upcoming ski season
Seven Springs Mountain Resort’s goal of hiring 1,000 employees for the upcoming ski season at its three resorts in Western Pennsylvania will kick off this week with its “Walk-In Wednesday” event. The resort, headquartered at Seven Springs in Champion, Somerset County, is seeking seasonal, part-time and full-time help for Seven...
West Newton woman jailed on $25K bond after police say she violated PFA, threatened officer
A West Newton woman was jailed this week after an hours-long standoff with the state police Special Emergency Response Team at a home in the borough. Tiffany M. Leighty, 53, was ordered held in the county prison on $25,000 bond Wednesday for violation of a domestic abuse order, according to...
State troopers in Indiana ask for help locating man charged in drug death
State police in Indiana are asking the public’s help locating a 33-year-old man charged with supplying a fatal dose of drugs that killed an area resident in White Township in 2019. Troopers obtained an arrest warrant Wednesday for Andrew K. Rankin, 33, of Ernest who is wanted for drug delivery...
Woman sues Westmoreland County, claiming injuries from Giant Slide in Mammoth Park
A woman is suing Westmoreland County and its bureau of parks and recreation, claiming they’re liable for injuries she suffered more than a year ago while riding a slide in the Giant Slide Complex at Mammoth Park. Melissa A. Cooley of Allegheny County is seeking in excess of $30,000 in...
Pa. Board of Game Commissioners meeting in Westmoreland County next week
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners is coming to Westmoreland County next week. The agency announced the board will meet Sept. 10 and 11 at the agency’s Southwest Region Office off Route 711 in Fairfield Township. The meeting on Friday, Sept. 10 begins at 2 p.m. The purpose of this...
Ex-Fayette law clerk accused by U.S. Attorney of improperly representing Capitol riot defendants
The acting U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., complained to a federal judge this week that a lawyer representing 17 defendants in Capitol riot cases improperly used a Fayette County man “who is not a licensed attorney” to represent his clients during court appearances. Defense attorney John Pierce of Los Angeles...
Ligonier man charged with trying to pry open relative’s safe
State troopers this week arrested a Ligonier man accused of breaking into an elderly relative’s home in Derry Township and trying to pry open her safe before fleeing empty handed, according to court documents. Zachary J. Saflin, 23, is charged with burglary, criminal attempt, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, prowling and...
After investigating consecutive hangup calls, troopers arrest Derry Township man
After checking on repeated hangup calls coming from the same telephone number in Derry Township, state troopers arrested a man on charges of threatening a woman and pointing a .40 caliber handgun at her, according to court documents. Brian L. Harbaugh, 49, of Bradenville, was arraigned Wednesday on multiple charges...
