Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 4
Judge nixes request for AI lawyer in pending New Kensington murder case
A Washington County man charged with the 2022 murder of a New Kensington man told a Westmoreland County judge Friday he wants to represent himself at his upcoming trial with the help of an artificial intelligence lawyer. Larry Osborn Nix II, 42, of West Brownsville is awaiting trial for criminal...
Incumbents face same Democratic challenger in race for 2 East Huntingdon supervisor seats
East Huntingdon incumbent supervisors Jeff Keefer and Justin Morrow have the same job. They also have the same opponent in separate races for two seats on the township’s governing board. Keefer, 55, a Republican, is seeking a four-year term. A former member of the township’s road crew, Keefer was appointed...
Judge upholds life sentences for Monessen man in 1973 rape, double murder case
A judge has rejected an appeal from a Monessen man who has spent 50 years in prison for the 1973 murders of two young children and the rape of their mother. Attorneys for John Veltre Jr., 69, claimed that Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Stewart II abused his...
Judge laments crimes he claims are linked to Hempfield casino as blackjack player is sentenced for having loaded gun
A Jeannette man will serve two years of probation for illegally possessing a loaded handgun while playing blackjack in a Westmoreland County casino. Kenneth J. Czarnecki, 26, pleaded guilty to one felony charge of carrying a firearm without a license while gambling at Live Casino Pittsburgh at Westmoreland Mall in...
Hempfield man sentenced to probation, house arrest for stalking teen at school bus stop
A Hempfield man was ordered to serve seven years on probation after he pleaded guilty to charges related to claims he propositioned a teenager last year at a school bus stop. Police claimed Michael D. Thomas, 72, made sexual comments to a 13-year-old Wendover Middle School student as she waited...
Judge rejects bail request of Jeannette man awaiting retrial for 1993 fatal fire
A judge on Wednesday denied bail for a former Jeannette man awaiting retrial on charges he set a fire three decades ago that killed his wife and two young children. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Stewart III ruled that state law prohibits bail for defendants who face a...
Westmoreland commissioners OK loan to pay for human services amid state budget impasse
Westmoreland commissioners on Tuesday authorized the county’s finance department to apply for a $14.1 million state treasury loan to fund essential human services amid Pennsylvania’s ongoing budget stalemate. The commissioners said an infusion of cash is needed as county resources used to pay key service providers that care for children...
Injured No Kings protest participant calls on Westmoreland commissioners to condemn political violence
A Smithton woman injured during an altercation at Saturday’s No Kings protest in Greensburg is calling on the Westmoreland County commissioners to formally condemn political violence. Karen Primm, 70, said she sustained a gash to right arm when she was struck by pole of a flag waved by an apparent...
House arrest lifted as Bovard man awaits arson, burglary trial
A former Greensburg man was released from house arrest Monday as he awaits trial for setting fire to a Hempfield home in 2022. The blaze injured two firefighters and killed three family pets. Westmoreland County prosecutors claim Randy W. Bryner set fire to the house to cover up his theft...
Transit authority OKs purchase of replacement Go Westmoreland buses; ridership rising
Westmoreland County Transit Authority board members approved the $2.1 million purchase of new buses for the agency’s shared-ride paratransit system. The smaller, 12-seat passenger buses are in the popular door-to-door subsidized service used by seniors and disabled riders and are among the fleet of 58 vehicles in the Go Westmoreland...
Trial set for New Florence woman, 2 men accused in her mother’s fatal shooting
The murder trial for a New Florence woman and the two men Westmoreland County who prosecutors say she enlisted to kill her mother is scheduled to begin early next year. Following a brief hearing Friday, Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio said jury selection will begin Feb. 2 in the...
Coroner’s ruling pending in Westmoreland jail inmate’s death
A female inmate was found dead in a jail cell this month, the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office said Thursday. Deputy Coroner Al Lonzo said Amber Knepshield, 32, was pronounced dead at 12:22 a.m. in a Westmoreland County prison cell Oct. 3. Lonzo said the office is awaiting results from an...
Federal shutdown could affect deadline for Jeannette flood mitigation project
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County might not meet a state-imposed deadline to complete a program to install new sewer lines in Jeannette because of the federal government shutdown, agency officials said Wednesday. Construction on the $14 million flood mitigation project, which has been in the works since 2019, started...
Financial losses expected as Westmoreland airport braces for flight cuts
Westmoreland County’s Airport Authority is eyeing red ink in the coming months. Reductions to the flight schedule for the airport’s lone commercial carrier and the county’s decision to freeze monthly subsidy payments could substantially limit the authority’s revenue projections during the last quarter of 2025. “We’re prepared for it,” Gabe...
Westmoreland furloughs begin as commissioners prep plan to borrow money
Westmoreland County won’t have enough cash on hand to meet payroll and other operating expenses in about a month, officials said Tuesday. Commissioners said plans are being finalized for the county to borrow funds to keep essential public services in operation amid the ongoing state budget impasse that required Westmoreland...
Westmoreland housing authority gets funding for Rostraver senior apartments
Westmoreland County Housing Authority officials said construction of a new 50-unit apartment building for low-income seniors in Rostraver could begin as soon as next summer. The authority awarded federal tax credits valued at about $15 million last week to pay for what will be the agency’s fifth major construction project...
Derry man convicted for causing 2019 crash that injured passenger
A Westmoreland County jury convicted a Derry Township man for causing a 2019 vehicle crash in Unity in which his passenger sustained serious injuries. Robert S. Mayer, 61, following a two-day trial, was found guilty this week of two felony offenses, aggravated assault by vehicle and causing an accident while...
Westmoreland jury acquits suspended trooper of girlfriend’s assault
Suspended state police Trooper Nicholas Hood was found not guilty Wednesday in connection to an alleged domestic violence incident two years in his Derry Township home. A Westmoreland County jury deliberated two hours before finding Hood not guilty of one misdemeanor count of simple assault. Common Pleas Judge Michael Stewart...
Westmoreland extends election bureau hours, OKs polling place changes for November
Westmoreland County announced it will extend hours of operation for its election bureau for a two-week period prior to the Nov. 4 general election. The county’s election board on Tuesday also approved new locations for five voting of the 306 precincts that will be used on Election Day. Voters will...
Assault trial begins for suspended state police trooper
Sarah Hellmann told a Westmoreland County jury Tuesday she was hesitant to contact police to report allegations that one of their own had assaulted her during a fight in a Derry Township home. She said it was only after she was encouraged by her employers that she went to the...
Westmoreland County approves ballot curing process for November election
The Westmoreland County commissioners on Tuesday approved a process to allow voters this fall to correct mail-in ballots. Republicans Sean Kertes and Doug Chew, who for the past five years have opposed efforts to allow what is known as ballot curing, said they were required to reverse course and implement...
Allegheny Twp. man pleads no contest to fentanyl possession
An Allegheny Township man faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading no contest Monday to fentanyl possession. George Zachary Senko, 40, was charged in May 2023 following a traffic stop on South Leechburg Hill Road after police found four bricks of fentanyl in his vehicle. As jury selection...
Jury convicts brother, acquits sister in New Kensington Easter Egg hunt assault
A Westmoreland County jury acquitted a New Kensington woman but convicted her older brother of the assault against of an autistic teen during a neighborhood Easter egg hunt. Stacey Oneal Jr., 36, of New Kensington was found guilty of a felony count of aggravated assault and misdemeanor simple assault and...
Brother, sister on trial for teen’s assault during New Kensington Easter egg hunt
Westmoreland County prosecutors contend a New Kensington brother and sister conspired to assault an autistic teenager two years ago during a neighborhood Easter egg hunt. Jurors will begin hearing evidence Thursday in the trial of Stacey Oneal Jr., 36, and his younger sister, Krystae Oneal, 33, who are charged in...
Father of New Kensington cop killer pleads guilty to open lewdness charge
The father of the man on death row for the murder of New Kensington police officer Brian Shaw pleaded guilty Tuesday in connection to claims he propositioned two teenage girls in Latrobe. Gregory Baucum Jr., 54, was sentenced to serve six to 12 months in jail but was immediately paroled...
