Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 120
Murrysville’s Sardis precincts boundary lines questioned
Westmoreland County elections officials said Monday they suspect voters who live near the border between Murrysville and Washington Township might be casting ballots in the wrong municipality. Elections Bureau Director Beth Lechman said the county believes for the last two decades it has used outdated maps to determine voting districts...
Search warrants in Unity woman’s disappearance to remain sealed
Seventeen search warrants detailing the investigation into last year’s disappearance of a Unity woman will remain under seal, at least for another month, a Westmoreland County judge ruled Monday. Following a closed-door hearing with two county prosecutors and a state police trooper, Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger ordered the...
Westmoreland housing authority ownership change expected to increase revenue
Westmoreland County’s housing authority transferred ownership of nearly 10% of the agency’s public housing units as part of a reorganization officials said will enable it to increase money it receives for needed capital improvements. “This is a decision that makes all the sense in the world. We will get more...
Jeannette man sentenced to house arrest for attempted child sex
A Jeannette man will serve nine months on house arrest for attempting to lure a child to a local hotel for sex. Brian Zupancic, 29, pleaded guilty in May to felony counts of unlawful contact with a minor and attempted statutory sexual assault for an incident in June 2017. Police...
Suspect in 2017 Youngwood murder wants confession barred from evidence
The man police said was the ringleader of the group that allegedly conspired to rob and kill a Youngwood drug dealer two years ago wants a Westmoreland County judge to bar multiple confessions made in the weeks that followed the fatal stabbing. Christopher David, 41, of Youngwood, contends he was...
Father of man charged with killing New Kensington cop sues prison over medical care
The father of the man accused of killing a New Kensington police officer is suing four Westmoreland County Prison officials, claiming they denied him needed medical care while he was incarcerated. Gregory Baucum Jr., in the lawsuit filed this week without the assistance of a lawyer, contends he was repeatedly...
Indiana County man released from jail awaits trial on alleged child porn possession
An Indiana County man awaiting trial in Westmoreland County on charges that he possessed child pornography was released from jail Wednesday after unrelated charges that he killed a neighbor’s cat last month were dismissed. Raymond Younger, 39, formerly of Penn Township, was detained in July after he was charged with...
Prosecutors oppose further delays in 2016 fatal DUI case in Donegal
A Westmoreland County prosecutor says that too much time has passed to allow another delay of the vehicular homicide trial of a Virginia man charged with killing his friend four years ago in a Donegal crash. Assistant District Attorney Mike Pacek said the case against Erik C. Anderson should not...
Authority OKs $11.3 million upgrade of Jeannette sewer system
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County board members on Wednesday approved a multi-million dollar upgrade of the Jeannette sewer system that officials said will reduce backflows that have inundated local homes and businesses during times of heavy rain. The $11.3 million project will replace and line existing pipes throughout the city...
Defense to file new evidence in New Kensington cop-killing case
Defense attorneys for the man awaiting trial for the 2017 shooting death of New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw will have four weeks to disclose potential evidence that could be used to convince jurors to save his life, a judge said Tuesday. During a pretrial conference, lawyers for Rahmael Sal...
Vandergrift woman rejects plea deal in cousin’s murder case
The attorney for a Vandergrift woman accused of killing her cousin said his client rejected a deal to plead guilty to a lesser charge. Defense attorney Pat Thomassey said Ashley Croft would rather go to trial than accept a deal to plead to third-degree murder and serve 30 to 60...
Lawyers: Jeannette man accused of 2 arsons, 1 fatal, deserves separate trials
A Jeannette man charged with setting two fires, including one that killed an elderly woman, wants separate trials for the alleged arsons. Brian Rendon, 34, is scheduled for trial next month on two cases — one in which he is charged with setting fire to a couch in front of...
Laurel Mountain man’s attorney to present new defense theory at murder trial
The lawyer for a Laurel Mountain man awaiting trial on charges of bludgeoning to death his live-in girlfriend in 2014 said Monday his client suffers from a mental condition preventing him from forming an intent to kill. Defense attorney Brian Aston said a brain injury sustained by Gregory R. Randall...
Loyalhanna man seeks to overturn conviction for killing his mother, sister and aunt
Westmoreland County prosecutors on Monday challenged a judge’s ruling allocating up to $2,500 in taxpayer money for defense lawyers to hire a ballistics expert to help craft an appeal for a death row inmate. Kevin Murphy, 58, of Loyalhanna, is seeking to overturn his conviction to three counts of first-degree...
Former Westmoreland corrections officer claims she was victim of racial discrimination
A former Westmoreland County Prison corrections officer claims she was the victim of racial discrimination when she was subjected to derogatory statements from co-workers and inmates, unwarranted discipline and erroneously blamed for an unnecessary inspection of cells. Bonita Hughey, 53, of Jeannette, in a lawsuit filed in Greensburg, said her...
Westmoreland County to hold job fair Aug. 22
Westmoreland County is planning a job fair to help fill as many as 50 positions at the courthouse, nursing home, jail and other government and human service offices. The day-long event will be held from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 22 at the Ramada Inn in Hempfield. It’s the...
Westmoreland County seeks bids for corpse transport contract
Westmoreland County is looking to hire a company to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week and be available to go anywhere in the county for a pickup. On the surface, it appears to be just another job for a transportation company. But it is highly...
Washington, D.C., man convicted in Arnold child rape
A Westmoreland County jury convicted a former Arnold man of rape and other charges related to accusations made by a teenage boy who claimed he was repeatedly sexually assaulted. Delonte Haynes, 28, of Washington, D.C., could face more than five decades in prison as a result of the convictions. Jurors...
Boil water advisory remains for Jeannette, Penn Township, Irwin
A boil water advisory for Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County customers in the Jeannette, Penn Township and Irwin areas is expected to continue into Saturday. Water authority officials said Friday that an initial water quality test found no contaminants but that a second clear test is needed before the boil...
Jeannette man guilty of selling drugs that killed his brother
A Jeannette man was found guilty Thursday of selling the drugs his younger brother used just prior to his overdose death in Greensburg in late 2016. Westmoreland County jurors deliberated nearly five hours before they found Markus McGowan, 31, guilty of one felony count of drug delivery resulting in death....
Families clash outside Greensburg courthouse as Arnold child rape trial starts
Greensburg police Thursday responded to a melee that erupted in front of the Westmoreland County Courthouse to separate families involved in an ongoing rape trial. Officials said no arrests were made and testimony in the case against Delonte Haynes continued after Common Pleas Judge Rita Hathaway questioned each juror about...
Jeannette man testifies he ‘would never give anything to my brother,’ who died of overdose
Markus McGowan insisted Wednesday he did not sell the drugs that his younger brother used in fatal overdose in late 2016. McGowan testified during the second day of his trial on a charge that he sold a fatal dose of fentanyl to his brother. He said he discovered what he...
Attorney for Jeannette man accused in selling drugs that killed brother questions police investigation
The attorney for a Jeannette man on trial accused of selling a fatal dose of fentanyl to his brother in late 2016 suggested in court Tuesday his client’s stunned acknowledgement of a police inquiry was not a confession. Defense attorney Brian Aston, in his opening statement, told jurors the arrest...
Jeannette, Penn Twp., North Huntingdon areas under boil water advisory
About 3,500 residents in the Jeannette, Penn Township and North Huntingdon areas are under a boil-water advisory. Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials said Tuesday afternoon a water line break near 13th Street in Jeannette has left some customers with low water pressure or without service. Officials said a 36-inch...
Plea deal rejected in Arnold child rape case, suspect faces 100 years to life at trial
A Washington, D.C., man on Monday rejected a plea bargain offer that would have sent him to prison for at least 15 years for the alleged sexual assault of a young boy in Arnold. Delonte Haynes, 28, faces a potential life sentence if he is convicted of all four counts...
