Paul Peirce stories, Page 28
Seward woman charged with child endangerment
A Westmoreland County woman was charged this week in Indiana County with four counts of child endangerment after state police said she overdosed in a Brush Valley home with four young children nearby. Kayla Jo Harnett, 29, of Seward, was found unresponsive in a residence along Route 56 just before...
Rostraver man charged with sexually assaulting girl 7 years ago
A 23-year-old Rostraver man was arrested Thursday after police investigated a tip from a child abuse hotline accusing him of sexually assaulting a girl seven years ago. Robert T. Parks IV was arraigned on charges of aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault of a juvenile less than 13 years old....
Greensburg woman charged with endangering children, drug possession after traffic stop
A Greensburg woman pulled over early Tuesday for driving erratically during a snow storm without functioning headlights was later arrested by city police and charged with illegal possession of crack cocaine and heroin. Sarah K. Walters, 28, also was charged with child endangerment because, police say, she had two young...
Southmoreland School District continuing probe of teacher in connection with racist post
No action is expected at Southmoreland School Board’s meeting Thursday in response to a racist Facebook post purportedly made last month from a middle school teacher’s account, according to school officials. David Petonic, the district’s solicitor, said officials are continuing to investigate whether teacher Richard Love made the post. Petonic...
Troopers: Latrobe fugitive arrested last week found with heroin, methamphetamine; new charges filed
When Westmoreland County sheriff’s deputies searched the closet of a Unity mobile home last week, they found more than the 24-year-old fugitive they said had been dodging authorities for nearly three months, court documents reveal. According to complaints filed Wednesday by state troopers, Collin A. Quakenbush of Latrobe was discovered...
Police charge Greensburg woman with assault after son’s hand is injured
Police charged a Greensburg woman with assault and endangering the welfare of a child after her son was injured at her home. Kristen M. Sinclair, 38, was released on $5,000 unsecured bond pending a preliminary hearing Feb. 18. Patrolman Regina McAtee reported that the boy’s injury was discovered after police...
Veteran sheriff’s department officer from Youngwood seeks Hempfield district judge post
A veteran Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Department officer, currently assigned to the U.S. Marshals Service’s fugitive task force, will run for an open district judge’s seat in Hempfield. Irvin Shipley, 44, of Youngwood, said he will cross-file and run in both the Democratic and Republican primaries May 18 for the seat...
Police say Ruffs Dale man assaulted own grandmother for prescription pills
A Ruffs Dale man was arrested on assault and robbery charges after police say he entered his 73-year-old grandmother’s home early Sunday and hit her with a cane after she refused to let him take her prescription pills. John S. Accipiter, 25, was arraigned on charges of harassment, resisting arrest,...
Volunteer ‘snugglers’ sought as Latrobe-based organization emerges from pandemicVideo
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Angel Arms, a free Westmoreland County family support service, provided short-term care for infants and young children for 25 to 30 guardians and parents on a regular basis so they could attend counseling or court-ordered addiction recovery programs. The small, Latrobe-based human service program is seeking...
Troopers say man threatened Hempfield woman with a sword during assault
State troopers arrested a Greensburg man on charges including simple assault and strangulation following an incident Thursday at a Hempfield home that involved a sword. Troopers said they were dispatched for a report of a domestic disturbance and were met by a woman who reported that Nicholas J. Germano, 26,...
Deputies find fugitive hiding in closet in Unity mobile home
After three months on the lam, a Latrobe fugitive is back in custody now that Westmoreland County sheriff’s deputies tracked him down — hauling him from a small crawl space in a bedroom closet of a Unity mobile home. Deputies arrested both Collin A. Quakenbush, 24, and Katelyn Stevens, 25,...
Latrobe therapist ordered to trial on charges of rape, sexual assault, corruption of minorsVideo
Eight former female clients of a Latrobe mental health therapist said in court Thursday they were harassed, sometimes groped and offered cash and drugs in return for nude photographs during counseling sessions. One former client, now 29, described in a preliminary hearing before Unity District Judge Michael Mahady how, as...
2 Indiana County schools temporarily placed in lockdown after reports of shooting
Two schools in Indiana County were temporarily locked down Wednesday afternoon as state police investigated reports of a shooting at an apartment in Homer City, state police said. Trooper Clifford Greenfield said Homer City Police and state police responded to reports of a disturbance and shooting in an apartment on...
State police charge man with DUI in Derry Township crash that prompted search
State police charged a 21-year-old Blairsville man with driving under the influence of alcohol after, they say, he crashed and abandoned a car Jan. 21 in Derry Township. When a person walking along Torrance Road noticed a damaged white Kia sedan sitting along the Conemaugh River bank the next morning,...
Detectives charge Westmoreland prison inmate with trying to smuggle anxiety, opioid pills into lockup
A woman arrested after skipping hearings in a 2019 DUI case is charged with trying to smuggle anxiety and Oxycontin pills into the the Westmoreland County Prison, according to county detectives. Julie Lea Thomas, 22, of Connellsville overdosed Jan. 21 after being placed in an intake holding cell as she...
Jeannette man charged with threatening 1-year-old and baby’s mother
State police charged a Jeannette man on Tuesday with repeatedly threatening to harm a baby boy after abandoning the toddler’s mother in Hempfield during a weekend argument. Timothy J. Mooney Sr., 45, who also has a Homewood address, was arraigned on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and...
Loyalhanna Township man charged with possessing child pornography
Working on a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, state police troopers seized a Loyalhanna Township man’s cell phone and arrested him Monday on child pornography charges, according to court records. John E. Zanandrea, 56, was arraigned on charges of criminal use of a communication facility,...
Pittsburgh man charged by Penn Township police with sexually assaulting teenage girl
Penn Township police said a 23-year-old Pittsburgh man caught in the back seat of his car with a teen last month falsely claimed the girl was his relative and that she had suffered a medical emergency. After further investigation, Det. Brad Buchsbaum and Sgt. Joseph Lewis determined his story was...
Greensburg man charged by city police following incident in Eastmont Estates
Greensburg police arrested a 29-year-old man Sunday night after responding to a reported domestic dispute. Kyle L. Boyce was arraigned on charges of endangering the welfare of children, harassment, possession of drug paraphernalia, strangulation and unlawful restraint filed by police in connection with the 10:30 p.m. incident in an apartment...
Attempted homicide charges added against man stemming from Irwin bar fight
An Irwin man charged with assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of simple assault in connection with a stabbing was arraigned Friday on an additional charge of attempted homicide. Joshua James Robison, 26, had his bond doubled from $75,000 to $150,000 by District Judge Wayne Gongaware during his...
Police say Connellsville woman attacked cheating boyfriend’s mistress with knife
A Fayette County woman who allegedly caught her boyfriend cheating is charged with breaking into the man’s East Huntingdon home and cutting the other woman with a knife, state police said. Lindsey J. Stout, 32, of Connellsville, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, simple assault and harassment...
Jeannette man charged with making nearly 400 harassing calls to ex-girlfriend
A Jeannette man recently paroled after serving time for assaulting his former girlfriend now is charged with making nearly 400 harassing phone calls to the woman, Greensburg police said. Kevin M. Reese, 30, was charged with harassment and harassment by communication. The calls began Monday and ended early Wednesday after...
Southmoreland School District investigating teacher in connection with racist post
Southmoreland School District officials confirmed Thursday they are investigating a racist Facebook message purportedly made through a middle school teacher’s account. Superintendent Vincent Mascia confirmed that the district and its solicitor, David Petonic, are investigating the post allegedly made Wednesday by teacher Richard Love. The message appeared as a comment...
Pleasant Unity man charged with threatening Gov. Wolf pleads guilty to reduced charge
A 29-year-old Pleasant Unity man accused of threatening Gov. Tom Wolf over business closures because of the coronavirus pandemic pleaded guilty to a reduced summary charge of harassment in York County, according to court officials. Rocco Anthony Naples was facing a third-degree felony charge of threats and other improper influence...
Youngwood man charged with possession of ‘large amount’ of methamphetamine
A 29-year-old Youngwood man accused of selling “large quantities of methamphetamine” out of his mobile home was hiding under a bed as state troopers raided his residence last week, according to court documents. Kyle A. Bumbalough was arraigned Saturday on charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession and delivery...
