Renatta Signorini stories, Page 110
2 men arrested in Southwest Greensburg on illegal gun charges
Two men are being held without bond in the Westmoreland County Prison on weapons violations after police said they were found illegally in possession of guns in a Southwest Greensburg home. Jamie Rayques Espy, 32, of Southwest Greensburg, and Kyra Malik Seifullah, 21, of Warren, Ohio, were charged this week...
Jeannette aims to demolish 4 blighted homes
The tall brush, broken windows and loitering at four abandoned West Jeannette homes soon will be a memory. City council unanimously approved on Thursday spending $34,500 to demolish four blighted buildings on an otherwise well-kept street. The South 12th Street homes have been targets of break-ins recently after a Murrysville...
St. Vincent de Paul readies new Jeannette store for opening next weekVideo
The clothing racks are filling in and items are being priced for sale — the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store’s new Jeannette location is getting ready to reopen. After more than 10 months of being closed when the faith-based nonprofit was forced out of its Clay Avenue location in...
Westmoreland Intermediate Unit sends 1,000 backpacks of supplies to students in Western Pa.
One thousand homeless students across Western Pennsylvania will be delivered some kindness next week courtesy of Westmoreland County. Stuffed in each of 1,000 backpacks are toiletries, school supplies, a blanket and a note card asking the student to pay it forward. The Westmoreland Intermediate Unit collected about $25,000 worth of...
Latrobe counselor accused of paying teen girl to see nude photos
Police arrested a Latrobe therapist on accusations he paid a girl he was counseling in order to see nude photographs of her, according to court papers. Gregory Patrick Miscik, 59, of Salem, was charged Friday with trafficking, sexual abuse of children, child pornography, corruption of minors, indecent assault and harassment....
Cause of Jeannette fire difficult to pinpoint due to building’s condition
A fire that destroyed a downtown Jeannette building originated on the first floor, but investigators were still working Monday to determine how it started. Firefighters and state police fire marshals visited the Clay Avenue building Monday morning. Fire Chief Bill Frye said a partial collapse near where the blaze originated...
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb retains 17th House District seat
Three days after he declared victory, U.S. Rep Conor Lamb appears to have won re-election in Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District in a tight race with his Republican challenger. The Associated Press called the race Saturday morning in Lamb’s favor over Sean Parnell. Around noon, Lamb expressed gratitude on his Twitter...
Amid increased usage during pandemic, graffiti, trash plague Ohiopyle State Park
Graffiti is back again at Ohiopyle State Park. Volunteers and park staff spent Thursday cleaning up spray painted political messages, obscenities, drawings of genitalia and personal notes from bridge abutments in two parts of the park, said naturalist Barbara Wallace. Graffiti was found on a new abutment constructed this year...
Toys for Tots annual Westmoreland train collection hopes for a big haul this yearVideo
Railcar enthusiasts plan to do their part this year to help get toys under Christmas trees for children in need. The annual 40-mile caravan collecting items for Toys for Tots along the Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad line from East Huntingdon to Hempfield will take place Nov. 14. “It’s more important than...
Jeannette man held without bond on drug charges
A Jeannette man was arraigned Thursday after police reported finding a large amount of cocaine and a drug packaging station in a house where he lived, according to court papers. Michael Anthony Dewberry, 33, was being held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bond. Agents from the state attorney general’s...
DEA collects record amount of prescription drugs on Take Back Day
A record amount of prescription medication — nearly 1 million pounds — was collected nationwide Oct. 24 during the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Drug Take Back Day. That includes nearly 37,000 pounds of unwanted, expired or unused prescription medication turned over at 209 collection sites in Pennsylvania, according to data released...
Fayette man dies week after crash
A passenger involved in a crash in Fayette County last month has died, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner. Brian Keith Benedetto, 49, of Uniontown was pronounced dead Friday at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, a week after the Oct. 23 crash in Dunbar Township. State police said Benedetto was a...
Man sentenced to 2 to 4 years for 2019 Ligonier Township arson
A Laughlintown man was sentenced Tuesday to two to four years in prison for setting his Ligonier Township home on fire last year. Brian W. McVicker, 55, was ordered to pay the former owners of nearby Washington Furnace Inn on Route 30 $125,000 in restitution. Chad Granatire said he has...
Suspect in Unity woman’s disappearance wants federal weapons charge dropped in separate case
Federal authorities did not have probable cause to search a Potter County cabin belonging to Thomas George Stanko, making the seizure of a sawed-off rifle illegal, his attorney argued in a pretrial motion. Investigators didn’t have evidence that a firearm would be found there during the October 2018 search, said...
2 Georgia men charged in check scheme in Southwestern Pa. involving homeless, addicts
Two Georgia men are accused in a check-cashing scheme in Southwestern Pennsylvania that preyed on local residents and businesses closed for the weekend, according to court papers. Jon Jon Detrell Anthony and Jurele McKnight, both 31, are charged in Westmoreland County with corrupt organizations, access device fraud, theft, receiving stolen...
No hoax: October marks pandemic’s deadliest month to date in Westmoreland County
Westmoreland County could be in for a bleak fall if the coronavirus death rate continues its grim increase. October has been the deadliest month since the pandemic started in March, according to state figures and county Coroner Ken Bacha. The county’s death toll surpassed 100 on Friday, with 47 of...
Basement democracy: Residents open homes as polling places in Westmoreland County
Democracy happens in Betty Tokarcik’s Wyano basement. Voting rights have been exercised in Kathleen Slomiany’s living room in Van Meter. The two women, who live about 8 miles apart in southwestern Westmoreland County, have opened the doors of their homes twice a year for decades to the voters in their...
Police seek information on woman who likely threw rocks at Trump House
State police were called to the Trump House in Unity on Thursday night after a woman apparently threw objects at a metal sign, according to Trooper Steve Limani. Police said the noises just before 10 p.m. sounded like gunshots, but investigators determined the noise was likely caused by rocks being...
Latrobe man charged with terroristic threats after Hempfield search, school delay
A Latrobe man is being held without bond after state police said he made threats Friday with a shotgun and holed up in his mother’s house, prompting the delay of a Hempfield elementary school. Dale Owen Smith Jr., 32, is charged with two counts of terroristic threats. Troopers said in...
Home for the holidays: Pa. health secretary urges that gatherings be limited to households
State officials are asking Pennsylvanians to limit holiday gatherings to those within their own households as the resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic continues. Department of Health Secretary Rachel Levine said Thursday there is evidence locally and nationally that such gatherings, large or small, are contributing to an increase in cases...
Westmoreland County Prison inmate accused of breaking fellow prisoner’s jaw during assault
A South Carolina man charged with attempting to kill a sheriff’s deputy there was arrested Wednesday on assault charges in connection with a beating at the Westmoreland County Prison this month. Brian Joseph Stoltie is accused of attacking another inmate, who suffered several facial fractures and had his jaw wired...
2 indicted in 2-day, 3-county armed robbery spree
Two Maryland brothers previously arrested in connection with a two-day armed robbery spree in three counties were indicted by a federal grand jury this week, according to U.S. Attorney Scott Brady. Elijah Alvin Sayon and Rexford Wright, both 23, of Hagerstown, Md., are each facing four counts of robbery. The...
Homicide case against East Huntingdon woman sent to court for mobile home park fatal shootingVideo
Meghan J. West told state police that a warning shot she fired Sept. 20 didn’t stop her former boyfriend from trying to break down her East Huntingdon bedroom door, so she fired again, according to Trooper Michael Thompson. The bedroom door had what Thompson described as a crack near the...
Police: Washington Township woman falsely claimed to be sheriff’s deputy
A Washington Township woman who police said has been repeatedly warned in the past to stop identifying herself as a sheriff’s deputy was charged with impersonating a public servant after an incident near her home. Barbara Lynne Szulc, 61, allegedly was riding a red lawnmower around Wellington Estates at 3:45...
Dozens of items seized from Washington Township home likely stolen, police say
When Washington Township Police Chief Scott Slagle went on the hunt for a 30-ton log splitter that had been reported stolen, he was surprised to find it this month sitting in the driveway of a Spring Hill Road home. Now, investigators are trying to figure out the origin of dozens...
