Paul Peirce stories, Page 24
Unity man accused of striking roommate with hammer
A Unity man was treated at an area hospital for head injuries after he told police his roommate hit him with a hammer early Tuesday. John A. Olson, 53, also of Unity, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, harassment, reckless endangerment and simple assault filed by state police after...
Firefighters battle 2 house fires in Monessen
Multiple fire departments from Monessen and surrounding areas battled two working house fires on 9th Street in the city Wednesday, according to 911 dispatchers. The initial fire was reported just after 10 a.m., Westmoreland County dispatchers reported. The dispatcher said one home “was real close to the other house” and...
Police accuse St. Clair Township man of threatening sheriff’s deputies serving a PFA
A St. Clair Township man is in the Westmoreland County Prison, charged with threatening to shoot two county sheriff’s deputies as the officers were attempting to serve a court order. Gregory Lee Clark, 54, was arraigned on three counts each of simple assault and terroristic threats and one count of...
Police say Irwin woman stabbed man after he took her vodka
An Irwin woman is accused by police of stabbing a man with a kitchen knife after he took her bottle of vodka. Donna L. Rich, 55, is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and harassment in the incident at an apartment in the 500 block of Walnut Street in the...
Westmoreland Sheriff taps U.S. Army veteran from Unity as chief of staffVideo
Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert named Thomas S. Abraham, a U.S. Army veteran from Unity, as his chief of staff. “Tom’s background makes him a nice asset in this office. He has a lot of experience in budgets, so he’ll be working more in that kind of an administrative role,”...
Covid deaths cause for caseload surge at Westmoreland coroner’s office
Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha said a meteoric 21% increase in the office’s caseload last year was fueled by coronavirus death investigations. The statistics detailing the sharp increase to 3,523 cases in 2020 compared with 2,906 cases in 2019 was included in Bacha’s annual report released Monday. Deputy Coroner Josh...
Pizzeria in Export holds fundraiser benefitting autism advocacy and research
There was never much of a question over the charity that would benefit from Ginny’s Neighborhood Pizza Joint’s first fundraiser Sunday celebrating the return of warm weather and the 7-month-old Export pizza restaurant and ice cream parlor, owner Nick Juricich said. “Our general manager, Samantha Leger, has a young son...
Fire extensively damages house in Unity
No injuries were reported Saturday after a Unity home was extensively damaged by fire. Dryridge Volunteer Fire Department Chief Rich Levay said firefighters from multiple central Westmoreland County fire departments responded to the blaze at the residence on McClellan Drive that was reported at 6:49 p.m. He said firefighters were...
Pittsburgh police investigating fatal shooting of teenage boy in Hill District
Pittsburgh police are investigating the fatal shooting of a teenage boy in the Hill District Saturday night. Police responded to 911 calls for shots fired in the 2400 block of Bedford Avenue at about 7:40 p.m. When responding officers arrived on scene, officers said they witnessed the boy being loaded...
Greensburg church, others partner to fight vaccine hesitancyVideo
Bishop Carl Jones of Greater Parkview Church in Greensburg admits having many reservations earlier this year about the covid-19 vaccine, but that initial skepticism has turned to advocacy over the past few months. Jones, pastor since 2003 of the nondenominational, multicultural church with many Black congregants, teamed with two other...
1 killed, 2 injured in Strip District collision
A 48-year-old woman was killed and two men were injured in a Strip District crash on Saturday. Police said Pamela McAllister of Pittsburgh died in the crash occurred on Liberty Avenue at 16th Street just before 8:15 a.m., police said. According to police, a sport utility vehicle on Liberty Avenue...
Police: Man dies after being shot outside bar in Hill District
A 51-year-old man was fatally shot Friday night outside a bar in the Hill District. Pittsburgh police and medics responded to 911 calls about a shooting and a ShotSpotter alert for a single shot fired in the 2100 block of Wylie Avenue around 10:40 p.m., police reported. Officers located an...
Feds: Somerset County man admits role in West Virginia cocaine-heroin ring
A Somerset County man could receive a 20-year federal prison sentence and be fined $1 million when he is sentenced this summer after admitting this week to participating his role in a drug trafficking ring in West Virginia, authorities said. Lance Smith, 47, of Confluence, admitted to his role in...
Tip, receipts, phone records lead to arrest of Ohio men in Unity equipment theft
State troopers used hotel receipts, cell phone records and a tip from police in Ohio during a 15-month investigation to arrest two demolition workers from Youngstown, Ohio, on Wednesday in connection with the theft of a piece of heavy equipment from a dump site in Unity. Nicholas S. Kaczmark, 44,...
Scottdale man arrested on charges of assault, strangulation
A 38-year-old Scottdale man who signaled a woman to pull over in her car this week is accused of choking and striking her multiple times, state police said. Jaison M. Maldonado was arraigned Tuesday on charges of striking and threatening a care-dependent person, simple assault and strangulation filed by state...
Woman accused of assaulting, threatening troopers after DUI arrest in South Huntingdon
A South Huntingdon woman who escaped serious injury after a rollover crash Sunday is accused of resisting arrest and threatening state troopers when she was arrested for DUI, according to court records. Destiny M. Bryner, 33, of Wyano, was charged with multiple criminal and traffic charges after the single-vehicle crash...
Donora man accused of leading police on slow-speed pursuit in Monessen before running away
A Washington County man jailed on charges of fleeing a January traffic stop is facing additional charges in connection with a slow-speed pursuit in Monessen last week, according to court dockets. Denzell Darshai Johnson, 23, of Donora, was jailed last week on multiple criminal charges related to a Jan. 26...
Job fairs planned at Seven Springs to hire 400 summer workers
Seven Springs Mountain and Hidden Valley resorts plan to hire 400 full- and part-time seasonal workers. Two summer job fairs have been scheduled to fill the positions at the Somerset County facilities. Available positions include adventure staff, zipline guides, lifeguards, servers, bartenders, cooks, golf and sporting clays positions and more....
Life during covid: Former Westmoreland public defender makes career move in midst of pandemicVideo
Editor’s note: This is an occasional series examining how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives of members of our community. Attorney Chris Haidze doesn’t regret for a minute his decision to make a major career move in the middle of the covid-19 pandemic to become Westmoreland County special courts...
Up to $9,000 in funeral assistance available to families who lost loved ones to covid-19
Scottdale funeral director Frank Kapr says interest is soaring in a new federal program benefiting families who lost a loved one to covid-19 in 2020. The Federal Emergency Management Agency launched a phone hotline this week offering up to $9,000 per family for certain paid expenses. “You would be crazy...
Troopers identify man shot and killed during standoff in Fayette County
State police released the identity of a 67-year-old Fayette County man fatally shot by troopers following a standoff Tuesday at his Saltlick home. Police say Keith Robert Tafoya exited his Pine Slope Road home and pointed a shotgun at members of the state police Special Emergency Response Team. Tafoya kept...
‘Bicycle Bob’ has been located and is safe, state police in Greensburg report
Hours after posting an alert for a missing endangered person, state police in Greensburg said they have located the missing man known in the Greensburg-Latrobe areas as “Bicycle Bob.” “He has been located and is safe,” said Trooper Stephen Limani about 4:25 p.m. Thursday. “We received a tip he was...
Hempfield fugitive arraigned on assault, firearm charges related to shooting at apartment complex
State police this week apprehended a Hempfield man charged with the shooting of a teen at an apartment complex. Darnell Albert Dennison, 19, was arraigned Thursday on charges of aggravated assault, illegal possession of a controlled substance, reckless endangerment, simple assault and unlawful possession of a firearm. He was ordered...
State police say Loyalhanna Township man arrested after threatening neighbors over music
A Loyalhanna man was arrested Wednesday, charged with twice threatening to harm his neighbors because he thought they were playing music too loud. Robert L. Spigler, 35, is charged wth two counts each of disorderly conduct, harassment, making terroristic threats and public drunkenness after troopers were dispatched twice to the...
Pa. courts warn of phone scam seeking money by threatening to list people as sex offenders
The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts in Harrisburg is warning state residents of a new phone scam in which callers threaten to place victims on the state’s sexual offender registry if they don’t immediately forward unpaid court fines or fees. “We wanted to get the word out there as soon...
