Renatta Signorini stories, Page 89
Jeannette police, school officials ‘actively addressing’ incident with student
Jeannette City School District officials are working with police and a junior high student and his family after the student was removed from the cafeteria Tuesday by the school resource officer, according to Superintendent Matt Jones. He and Police Chief Donald Johnston Jr. said the issue stemmed from a disciplinary...
2 boys to be charged in vandalism at Jeannette public works garage
Police said they plan to charge two boys after mowing equipment and items in the Jeannette public works garage were vandalized during the weekend. The pair went to the building on North Fourth Street Saturday and were seen on surveillance cameras discharging two fire extinguishers in the cab of the...
State police report seizing large amounts of cocaine, fentanyl during 3rd quarter
State police continue to seize large amounts of cocaine and fentanyl in 2021. Statistics provided by the agency show that troopers have confiscated 852 pounds of cocaine through Sept. 30, including 314 pounds of the drug valued at $6.9 million in the last three months. State police seized 175 pounds...
What can be done about police officer shortage?
Continued difficulty in hiring police officers is driving conversations among police chiefs and departments across the region in hopes of a solution to their staffing problems. A roundtable discussion Monday in Latrobe broached using state money for sign-up bonuses and to pay for training and certification courses, Latrobe police Chief...
Disease management areas expanded, created after CWD-positive deer found
The Pennsylvania Game Commission expanded an existing disease management area and created a new one after a roadkill deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease in Jefferson County. The change comes in the middle of archery season and about a month before regular firearm season. CWD is a contagious disease...
Driver hurt after pickup slams into New Stanton chiropractic center porch
A man was taken to the hospital Monday after crashing into the New Stanton Chiropractic Center. New Stanton Fire Second Lt. Craig Bromke said the driver of a pickup truck was taken from the scene by ambulance. The truck slammed into the front of the building on West Pennsylvania Avenue...
Jeannette officials seek county’s help to demolish 2 buildings
Jeannette officials hope to raze two fire-damaged buildings with the help of county demolition funding. An application will be made to the county requesting money to demolish a Clay Avenue commercial building and a Good Street home, city clerk Nathan Bish said. “Even if they don’t fund it all, it’s...
Monster bash: Jeannette readies for another Halloween parade
Green-hued monsters, even those of the meticulously constructed paper-craft kind, will be on display and in the running for cash prizes next week in the Jeannette Halloween Parade. “It was always a really nice parade,” said co-organizer Nancy Peters, who has joined forces with fellow Jeannette Councilwoman Robin Mozley. The...
$10K reward offered in Cassandra Gross disappearance
Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers is offering a $10,000 reward for information that helps investigators solve the disappearance of Cassandra Gross. Anyone with tips for police can remain anonymous. Gross, 51, was last seen April 7, 2018. She called her mother while driving on Route 30 to her home in Unity after having...
Officials toast Jeannette Glass site’s transformation to cryogenic testing facility
Friday will be one of the memorable days in Jason Rigone’s career. He has seen the former Jeannette Glass site transform into Elliott Group’s $60 million cryogenic pump test stand and experienced the behind-the-scenes work to make it happen for years as a member of the Westmoreland County planning department...
Greensburg man accused of inappropriately touching 2nd girl
A Greenburg man who was arrested in June in connection with an alleged sexual assault on a 9-year-old girl was arraigned Thursday on similar charges involving a 13-year-old girl, according to court papers. John Harry Patak III, 30, was arraigned Thursday on charges of indecent assault, corruption of minors and...
Woman stabbed in Stowe, 1 arrested
A person was arrested Friday after a stabbing in Stowe that seriously injured a woman, according to Allegheny County Police. Investigators said township police were patrolling Broadway Avenue around 12:30 a.m. when they found a 29-year-old woman with multiple stab wounds. She was hospitalized in critical condition, police said. Police...
Youngwood man accused of taking $50K worth of guns, other items from 2 abandoned houses
A Youngwood man was charged Thursday after state police said he took $50,000 worth of guns, tools, coins and military collectibles from two abandoned houses, according to court papers. George Raymond Weightman III, 43, told investigators he broke into the houses in Adamsburg and Hempfield to fund a drug addiction....
Route 51 crash in Pittsburgh caused traffic slowdowns
Traffic disruptions dissipated throughout the morning on Route 51 in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood after an SUV caught fire when it crashed into a pole. Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV reported that the driver fled from the crash scene on Route 51 in the area of Whited Street. The crash happened just...
Turtle Creek woman sentenced to federal prison for role in drug trafficking
A Turtle Creek woman was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in federal prison for working with two siblings to distribute fentanyl in the area. Marleka Robinson, 26, was ordered to spend two years on supervised release after the prison term. She pleaded guilty to drug trafficking in June. A grand...
Operation Safe Stop puts spotlight on stopping for school buses
The only misbehavior on the road Wednesday morning during a state police ride-along on a Greater Latrobe school bus was from a deer and three raccoons. No motorists broke the law while Trooper Brandon Boyd was on board, but many of the youngsters catching a ride to school were thrilled...
McKeesport man sentenced to 14 years in federal prison on drug, weapons violations
A McKeesport man was sentenced Monday to 14 years in a federal prison in connection with drug and weapons offenses. Derrick Walker, 31, was arrested after prosecutors said he sold stamp bags of fentanyl marked “Pray for Death” to a man on June 15, 2019. That man was found dead...
Parkway East reopens after tractor-trailer overturns
The Parkway East’s inbound lanes reopened Tuesday morning after an overturned tractor-trailer prompted a four-hour shutdown that snarled rush-hour traffic. The crash happened before 5 a.m. between the Edgewood/Swissvale and Wilkinsburg exits, according to PennDOT. The tractor-trailer was on its side, blocking much of the three-lane highway. All lanes were...
3 charged with receiving stolen property after guns reported missing from Adamsburg home
Three people are charged with receiving stolen property in connection with guns reported missing from an Adamsburg home, according to state police. Nine handguns were discovered at a Hempfield man’s house last week after investigators uncovered text messages and photographs of some of the missing firearms on a cell phone...
New Stanton man accused of raping woman at Hempfield party
A New Stanton man is scheduled for a preliminary hearing this month on rape accusations stemming from a 2020 house party in Hempfield, according to court papers. State police said a DNA sample from Anthony Edward Lucas, 26, matched evidence found on his accuser. Troopers said the accuser reported on...
Teen girl hurt in Knoxville shooting
A 16-year-old girl was hospitalized Sunday night after Pittsburgh Police said she was shot in the leg. The girl was found on Rochelle Street in Knoxville after a ShotSpotter alert just before 9:30 p.m., according to police. Officers used a tourniquet to stem the bleeding from a gunshot wound on...
No injuries reported in Leechburg duplex fire
No one was hurt in a fire Monday morning at a Leechburg duplex, according to fire department officials. The blaze was reported at 1 a.m., according to an Armstrong 911 dispatcher. Thick smoke was seen pouring out of the two-story Market Street building. A state police fire marshal is investigating....
2 tornadoes, straight line winds caused damage during storms in Beaver, Butler
Two tornadoes and straight line winds left behind damage in Beaver and Butler counties during heavy storms Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Moon. The tornadoes struck in Shippingport, Monaca and Freedom in Beaver County just after 6 a.m. The first one in Shippingport was rated EF0...
Small fire in ventilation system at Westmoreland Hospital extinguished
A small fire in the ventilation system at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital was extinguished Friday, according to Greensburg Fire Chief Tom Bell. The automatic fire alarm was reported after 11 a.m. at the hospital on West Pittsburgh Street. Bell said maintenance staff extinguished the flames in an air handler unit...
Vandergrift man acquitted of most charges in 2019 incident
A Vandergrift man was acquitted by a Westmoreland County jury this week of 15 of the 16 charges against him stemming from a 2019 incident. Javon Michael Thom Lambert, 22, was found not guilty of robbery, aggravated assault, a weapons violation, escape and related offenses. Jurors convicted him of flight...
