Paul Peirce stories, Page 51
Cops: Ligonier drug bust leads to second arrest for burglaries
Undercover police officers watching a Ligonier apartment after complaints of suspected drug activity not only arrested a resident for allegedly selling Suboxone, but also solved two weekend break-ins. The resident, Hunter M. Fitchko, 26, was arrested inside his apartment on the 200 block of East Church Street by Ligonier Valley...
2 people reported injured in head-on collision in Ligonier Township
Two people were reported injured in a head-on collision Sunday at the intersection of Routes 711 and 271 in Ligonier Township, according to a Westmoreland County dispatch supervisor. The accident occurred about 3:15 p.m. in the village of Waterford, the dispatcher said. The two people injured were expected to be...
Police: Man arrested in fatal Wilkinsburg shooting, victim ID’d
A 32-year-old man was in the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh awaiting arraignment on homicide charges after shooting and killing a 46-year-old man during an argument in Wilkinsburg late Saturday, according to county police. County homicide detectives reported Dilon Bartifay, formerly of North Versailles, was arrested shortly after the 10:25...
23-year-old man found shot, lying in road in Penn Hills after being thrown from car
Allegheny County Police are seeking information on a shooting Saturday that critically injured a 23-year-old man. Police were dispatched just before 8 p.m. Saturday to the 7500 block of Manilla Street in Penn Hills for a report of a man found shot in the street. Penn Hills Police and paramedics...
Church sanctuary in Ligonier transforms into skiing ‘swap shop’ one Saturday each fallVideo
Nearby Laurel Mountain Ski Resort has not opened for the season, but as temperatures dipped into the 20s early Saturday plenty of Ligonier-area skiers were prepping to hit the slopes. As many skiers have for the past 20 years, they flocked Saturday to the sanctuary at Ligonier Valley Heritage United...
Irwin cancer survivor drives patients to treatments, recovery through American Cancer SocietyVideo
Cheryl Kilroy admits she has followed the same road many Western Pennsylvanians regrettably are forced to take after a cancer diagnosis. A 16-year cancer survivor, the Irwin resident knows firsthand that one of the biggest roadblocks to treatment can be transportation. For the past 15 years, after her own treatment,...
Cops: Jeannette man attempted to flee undercover drug deal
Police say a Jeannette man was in possession of various drugs when he attempted to run from undercover state narcotics agents and city police as they closed in during a drug sting Tuesday. Shelton A. “Pops” Hannibal, 26, was arraigned Wednesday on charges of illegal possession and delivery of controlled...
Cops: Infant, toddler removed from squalid conditions in Avonmore home
An infant boy and his 18-month-old sister were removed from an Avonmore mobile home Monday after troopers said they found squalid living conditions and arrested the children’s mother and her boyfriend. Washington Township District Judge Jason Buczak denied bond for Kaitlyn D. Thorpe, 20, of Avonmore, and Timothy L. McMunn,...
Cops: Vandals cause $1 million in damage to heavy equipment, vehicles near Somerset
State police are asking for help identifying vandals who caused more than $1 million in damages to about 70 vehicles and 20 pieces of heavy equipment belonging to an international gas exploration and pipeline construction firm last weekend in rural Somerset County. Trooper Daniel Poponick of the Somerset station reported...
Goats clog Route 30 as Latrobe angler gets ‘whopper’ tale from unsuccessful fishing tripVideo
Latrobe angler Kimberly Ranalla on Sunday headed home empty-handed after a fruitless steelhead trout fishing trip to the Erie area, but she ended up with a “whopper” — one she caught on video. As Ranalla drove eastbound on Route 30 around Adamsburg, west of Greensburg, just after 2 p.m., a...
Railroad reopened after Hempfield derailment
Lengthy delays can be expected, but rail service has been restored following a train derailment Friday in Hempfield, officials with Norfolk Southern Railroad announced. Traffic and operations are returning to normal, but some customers may experience a delay of 24 hours due to the backlog, the company said Monday. Amtrak...
Fire damages McDonald’s in Donegal TownshipVideo
A fire Monday shut down a McDonald’s restaurant in Donegal Township, just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike, along with gas pumps at an adjoining convenience station. A grease fire from a fryer was reported at 9:45 a.m. inside the restaurant on Route 31, according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher. No...
3 trains derail in Hempfield; 50 railroad cars jump tracks; no injuries reported
Three Norfolk Southern Corp. mixed-freight trains were involved in a derailment about three miles east of Greensburg on Friday that derailed 50 shipping containers, blocking both rail lines that carry freight and passenger traffic on the heavily-traveled route between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, the railroad said. No one was reported injured...
Concealed-carry law seminar set this month in Irwin
North Huntingdon Police Chief Robert Rizzo and Kim Stolfer, president of Firearm Owners Against Crime, are slated to be presenters at a Nov. 16 seminar in Irwin on Pennsylvania’s concealed-carry laws. The free seminar will run from noon to 2 p.m. at VFW Post 781, 100 Billott Ave. and is...
Former Murrysville packaging plant controller admits $200K theft
The former controller of a Murrysville packaging firm pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh this week to stealing about $200,000 from the firm over five years, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said. Victoria Mazur, 52, of Plum pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud before United States...
Derry Township man charged in butcher knife attack
State police say a Derry Township woman barricaded herself in a bathroom after a man swung a butcher knife at her during an argument Wednesday. Donald E. Gunter, 39, was charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest, terroristic threats, simple assault, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness by state police after the...
Cops: Ohio man fled Derry traffic stop in stolen car
An Ohio man was driving a stolen car when he fled from a traffic stop Wednesday, Derry police said. Ronald Lee Handy III, 22, of North Benton, Ohio, just west of Youngstown, was arrested by borough police on charges of theft, fleeing and eluding police, unauthorized use of a vehicle,...
Authorities continue investigating death of newborn in Indiana County
The Indiana County Coroner’s office and state police are continuing to investigate the death of a newborn infant Wednesday that died shortly after his birth Wednesday in Creekside. Trooper Cliff Greenfield said an autopsy was performed Thursday on the male infant by ForensicDX, a forensic pathology laboratory in Windber. However,...
Greensburg woman charged with assaulting nurse, state trooper
A Greensburg woman arrested for driving under the influence is accused of biting and kicking a state trooper and assaulting a hospital nurse. Chanei V. Cunningham, 31, is charged with driving under the influence, careless driving and driving on the wrong side of the road following the one-vehicle crash on...
Jeannette man charged with assaulting woman
A Jeannette man was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman and holding her against her will a few days earlier in East Huntingdon. Corey J. Rubright, 25, was pulled over for vehicle violations, including driving on a suspended license and driving without insurance, early Sunday by Jeannette police and detained...
Cops: Export man arrested for 2 burglaries, resisting arrest
A 23-year-old Export man is in the Westmoreland County Prison without bail after being arrested for separate residential burglaries in the borough just hours apart. Zachary Musto was arrested by state police at Kiski inside a residence on the 6000 block of Kennedy Avenue just after midnight Tuesday after troopers...
Community symposium to focus on human trafficking in Westmoreland, Western Pa.Video
Recent stings that led to the arrests of three Western Pennsylvania massage parlor operators garnered widespread publicity, but two local human-service workers don’t see the region’s human trafficking issues ending soon. “A lot of times, we think of human trafficking as the van snatching a child or woman at the...
Indiana County teenager accused of threatening classmates on social media
A 14-year-old Indiana County youth was charged with making terroristic threats and disorderly conduct Monday for allegedly posting a threatening message on social media that he planned to bring firearms to Marion Center Junior-Senior High School and target classmates, according to state police. Police said the student, who attends the...
Cops: Mt. Pleasant Township man attacked workers with baseball bat over rental TV
A 55-year-old Mt. Pleasant Township man was so angry when two workers arrived to pick up an 82-inch television he had rented that he attacked them with a metal baseball bat, police said. State police say Gene R. Overly fled the scene after the Saturday afternoon incident, but eventually was...
Trafford police say driver accused of 6th DUI told them he used heroin, meth, cocaine
A 34-year-old man awaiting trial for his fifth DUI told Trafford police Sunday he was under the influence of heroin when his SUV swerved into the opposing lane. Tyler E. Thimons of Gibsonia was stopped about 1:30 a.m. Sunday after patrolman Zlatan Avdic said he watched Thimons’ 2008 Ford Escape...
