Paul Peirce stories, Page 33
Motorcyclist injured in New Stanton crash
A motorcyclist was seriously injured Wednesday when he crashed in a work zone along Route 119 North in New Stanton, according to a 911 dispatch supervisor. The accident occurred about 2 p.m. near Hepler’s Hardware, where the highway merges into one lane because of ongoing construction work in Youngwood. The...
Derry Township man accused of assaulting, choking girlfriend
A Derry Township woman alleges she was held at knifepoint, beaten and choked by her boyfriend in a domestic assault that began late Monday and lasted until she was able to flee Tuesday afternoon. Randy S. Authier, 22, was arraigned on multiple charges filed by by state police at Kiski...
Latrobe couple accused of helping Adelphoi runaway’s plan to flee to Georgia
A Latrobe couple has been charged with corruption of minors for allegedly assisting a 17-year-old runaway from an Adelphoi Village group home in a plan to flee to Georgia in September. Eric L. and Michele L. Mallin, 50 and 48, are charged by state police with assisting the girl. The...
Johnstown man killed in Route 22 crash in Indiana County
A 61-year-old Johnstown man died Monday in a crash along Route 22 in Indiana County that closed the highway for six hours. Coroner Jerry Overman Jr. said Leroy Durant Jr. was partially ejected through the sunroof of a 2005 Buick Lacrosse that lost control on the highway, drove off the...
Trooper: Sewickley Twp. houseguest accused of stealing $4K worth of silver
A Sewickley Township house guest helped himself to more than $4,000 in silver bars that belonged to his host, state police said. Kenneth Paul Anderson, 21, of Arona, is charged with two counts of theft and one count of receiving stolen property in connection with the theft in July. Shane...
Greensburg police investigating Halloween vandals who shot vehicles, house
Greensburg police are investigating who shot out windows of nine parked vehicles and a house along several streets north of the Westmoreland County Courthouse late Halloween night or early Sunday. Most of the damage occurred over several blocks in the Academy Hill area, Capt. Shawn Denning said. No one was...
Mt. Pleasant Borough girl delivers Halloween ‘survival kits’ to area policeVideo
Mt. Pleasant’s annual Halloween parade went off without a hitch Wednesday night, but the borough police department got their own surprise Friday in the form of a “survival kit” of treats, courtesy of 12-year-old Arianna Cholock. In fact, the Mt. Pleasant Area School District seventh grader made a point to...
‘Gone too soon’: West Penn Power lineman remembered for acts of kindness at Madison serviceVideo
Dozens of West Penn Power utility trucks and ambulances on Thursday lined Main Street outside of Beatty-Rich Funeral Home in Madison to honor 27-year-old Dillon W. Walton, a utility lineman killed Oct. 21 in a crash on nearby Interstate 70. The overflow crowd of family, friends and co-workers, who parked...
Cops: Man jailed after assault and failed robbery attempt in Latrobe
A 36-year-old Latrobe man was arrested this week, charged with assault and attempted robbery by city police for allegedly trying to take a woman’s purse early Tuesday. Brandon S. Baradziej also is charged with harassment, public drunkenness, simple assault, terroristic threats and theft, according to court dockets. Officer Mathew Dechicchis...
Son cuts Derry Township father with machete during argument, troopers say
A 39-year-old Derry Township man is in jail on multiple assault charges after allegedly cutting his father with a machete during an argument that turned physical Tuesday. Kenneth C. Johnson is charged by state police with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, harassment and terroristic threats. District Judge Mark Bilik...
7-mile chase ends in Youngwood Cemetery with DUI arrest
A Hempfield woman whose driver’s license already was suspended for a DUI conviction in Allegheny County is accused of leading Greensburg Police on a 7-mile pursuit through several communities early Sunday before the chase ended in Youngwood Cemetery. Officer Garret McNamara reported in court documents filed Tuesday that Kathleen D....
Inmate accused of throwing chair, injuring Westmoreland prison guard
An inmate at the Westmoreland County Prison was arrested on three felony counts of aggravated assault and simple assault for allegedly attacking a female guard with a chair earlier this month. Jacquet L. Travis, 38, of Pittsburgh, was arraigned on the multiple criminal charges filed by county Det. James Williams....
Indiana Borough police say 3 of 4 suspects jailed in fatal shooting of IUP student
Indiana Borough police announced Monday that three of four suspects in the fatal shooting of a Pittsburgh man are in custody. Police say Jayden Wright, 20, was found shot in a parking lot on Oakland Avenue in Indiana about 4 a.m. Oct. 17. He died at Indiana Regional Medical Center....
Westmoreland Prison Board moves ahead in search for new wardenVideo
The Westmoreland County Prison Board will accept applications through Friday for a new warden to succeed John Walton, who announced last month he was resigning and retiring. Walton, 61, of Mt. Pleasant Township, submitted his resignation Sept. 28, claiming it was the result of “a public character assassination and campaign...
Westmoreland warden says quarantined prison cell block may reopen this week
A unit at the Westmoreland County Prison that has been under quarantine since multiple inmates and staff members in early October tested positive for the coronavirus could reopen this week, according to jail officials. “We’re awaiting results of tests taken Friday, and we fully expect that unit to reopen this...
State police seize 2 kilos of fentanyl on turnpike near New Stanton, charge 2 N.Y. men
Two New York men are in federal custody after state troopers this week allegedly found more than two kilos of fentanyl stashed in a secret compartment of an SUV on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Westmoreland County. Federal magistrate Patricia Dodge on Wednesday found that there was probable cause for Juan...
Mt. Pleasant man accused by state agents of selling heroin, meth from Norvelt home
Agents with the state attorney general’s office allege that a Mt. Pleasant man used a home in the bedroom community of Norvelt as a base for a drug sales operation for several months. David Meade Keefer, 33, was arrested Thursday at the well-kept, two-story frame home at 1136 West Laurel...
Text messages lead to sex charges against Scottdale man
A series of text messages discovered by a parent on a teenage girl’s cell phone led to sexual assault charges against a Scottdale man. Albert C. Fletcher III, 35, was charged by borough police with corruption of minors, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 16 years old,...
Blairsville man accused in month-long burglary spree in Westmoreland County
A Blairsville man was arrested this week, charged in a month-long burglary spree that targeted all-terrain vehicles, transport trailers, specialty tools and pieces of heavy equipment from drilling companies, construction sites and private storage units along the Route 22 corridor in Derry Township. Michael C. Hamrock, 43, was charged with...
Fayette County man accused in East Huntingdon fatal hit and run will stand trial
A Fayette County man accused of hitting and killing a Mt. Pleasant man with his car and fleeing the scene waived his right to a hearing Wednesday and will proceed to trial. William P. Williams, 27, of Bullskin Township, faces multiple charges including homicide by vehicle in connection with the...
16-year-old charged in Jeannette double shooting
A Jeannette teen accused of shooting and wounding two men Tuesday told investigators he had “a long-standing dispute” with the victims, according to police. Khalil L. Myers, 16, was arraigned Wednesday on two counts of attempted homicide and aggravated assault in connection with the shooting at 4:46 p.m. inside a...
Cook man, 73, charged with killing wife, keeping her corpse in home for a week
A 73-year-old Cook man remains in jail without bond after state police accused him of spending a week inside his home with the corpse of his wife, who was shot twice in the back. Troopers discovered the body on Tuesday, when a relative requested a welfare check for Sandra Montjar,...
State police looking for Acura that hit Youngwood pedestrian
State police in Greensburg are looking for the driver of a car that hit a pedestrian in Youngwood Monday. Police said a 33-year-old man was taken to Excela Health Westmoreland hospital in Greensburg by Mutual Aid Ambulance for treatment after the 12:34 p.m. incident. His identity was not released. Trooper...
Plans move ahead for Blue Angels’ return to Westmoreland airshow in 2021
Beset by the covid-19 pandemic and construction at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport that has slashed commercial passenger traffic by 60%, the Westmoreland County Airport Authority is turning the page on 2020 and planning the return of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels next year. The flight demonstration squadron based in Pensacola,...
Jeannette man jailed following heroin, crack cocaine arrests on consecutive nights
A Jeannette man arrested on consecutive nights last week holding several thousand dollars and large quantities of heroin and crack cocaine was deemed to be “a danger to society” by a judge and ordered held in the county jail without bail. District Judge Wayne Vlasic of Monessen made the notation...
