Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 79
Former Unity group home resident pleads guilty in scissors attack
A former resident at a Latrobe-area juvenile group home pleaded guilty Monday to a charge that he slashed a fellow inmate six times with a scissors during a violent confrontation. Omar Hernandez-Vallejo, 18, told a Westmoreland County judge he was defending himself during the Feb. 20 confrontation. “I feel that...
Former Westmoreland deputy sheriff seeks dismissal of sex charges
A former Westmoreland County deputy sheriff wants a judge to dismiss criminal charges alleging that he solicited sex from female inmates during routine prisoner transfers, claiming there is not enough evidence to support the claims. In court documents filed Monday, the lawyer for Daniel Gradischek, 34, of Unity argued that...
Westmoreland hires private company to train new staff in depleted elections office
Westmoreland County will pay a private company $112,000 over the next 18 months to help oversee the next three elections as officials continue efforts to hire a new director and two middle managers in the aftermath of the problem-plagued May primary. Officials said personnel turnover, which included the June firing...
Former Latrobe wrestling coach not guilty in alleged hazing case
Former Greater Latrobe Area Junior High School wrestling coach Cary Lydic was acquitted Friday of charges alleging that he endangered students and failed to report potential child abuse in connection with suspected hazing incidents last year. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger issued the verdict without explanation after...
Jeannette-based gun marketplace website sues Facebook, Instagram over removal
The owner of a Jeannette-based weapons marketing internet site contends he and his company were improperly removed from two social media platforms and suggested his conservative, pro-gun politics were the cause, according to a lawsuit filed this week in Westmoreland County. Armslist LLC and owner Jonathan Gibbon of Jeannette said...
Westmoreland commissioners pressed to take public opinion into account when spending relief fundsVideo
Westmoreland commissioners will convene a public hearing to gather recommendations on how the county should spend $105 million in American Rescue Plan funds. No date has been set. Commissioners Doug Chew and Gina Cerilli Thrasher committed to hosting an information session after hearing from dozens of community members who spoke...
Final water restrictions lifted in McKeesport
All do-not-drink restrictions in McKeesport’s Lower 10th Ward were lifted Thursday, nearly a month after a portion of the city’s water system was contaminated by firefighting foam used to extinguish a blaze in mid July. Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials said the last five customers impacted by the contamination...
Blairsville man acquitted for threats after wife recants allegations
A Blairsville man was found not guilty of making threats to kill his wife after she told a Westmoreland County jury she lied to police. Police claimed James Leroy Trout Jr., 45, pointed a gun at a Latrobe home on Oct. 15, 2019 where his wife fled to after the...
Westmoreland tax office to remain closed until Monday as covid-19 cases confirmed
The tax office at the Westmoreland County Courthouse will remain closed to the public until Monday, Aug. 16 after employees testified positive for the coronavirus. County officials said test results reported Wednesday afternoon confirmed that three employees in the first-floor courthouse annex office had contracted the virus. The office was...
Ex-Latrobe wrestling coach testifies in alleged hazing case
A former junior high school wrestling coach testified he didn’t originally believe any crimes were committed or students were hurt when he saw one of his team leaders brandish a stick before practice last year. But Cary James Lydic admitted Wednesday that video of the incident suggested wrongdoing. Responding to...
Latrobe wrestling coach on trial, accused of failing to stop and report alleged hazing incidents
Ritual hazing among members of the Greater Latrobe Area Junior High School wrestling team was ongoing as the boys’ coach stood feet away, a district administrator told a Westmoreland County judge on Tuesday. That testimony came during the first day in the nonjury trial of former wrestling head coach Cary...
Felony sex counts dismissed as part of plea deal in New Kensington assault case
A Bridgeville man pleaded guilty to one count of indecent assault on Monday after a Westmoreland County prosecutor agreed to dismiss four violent sexual offenses in connection with allegations made two years ago by a former girlfriend. Terry James Clawson, 30, told a Westmoreland County judge it was in his...
Jury seated in trial of Allegheny Township man charged in 6 sex assault cases
A Westmoreland County jury was seated Monday to hear evidence in six cases against an Allegheny Township man charged with sexual assaults against two young children, a teenager and two adults. Prosecutors contend Eric Alan Wright, 50, raped two children — including one accuser who told police the sexual assaults...
Covid concerns prompt Westmoreland tax office to close Monday
The tax office in the Westmoreland County Courthouse complex was closed Monday because of coronavirus concerns. “We have no positive cases,” said Alexis Bevan, the county’s human resources director. The tax office is on the first floor of the Greensburg courthouse annex building on Pennsylvania Avenue and was locked Monday...
Former foster mom pleads guilty to child endangerment, rape count dismissed
A former foster parent was ordered Friday to serve three years on probation after she pleaded guilty to lesser charges in a case in which, police say, she had sex with her foster son more than 500 times. Joelle M. Barozzini, 50, of Greensburg told a Westmoreland County judge it...
Confession challenged in New Kensington police shooting case
The lawyer for an Allegheny County man contends his client’s confession that he fired shots at three New Kensington police officers last year was illegally obtained because the now 19-year-old didn’t have a parent with him during official questioning. According to court documents filed Friday, defense attorney Emily Smarto said...
Sewickley mother pleads guilty in child’s cocaine consumption
A Sewickley woman was sentenced Thursday to serve three years on probation for allowing her two-year-old son to ingest cocaine. Arrica Ann Holwell, 23, pleaded guilty to one felony charge of child endangerment. According to court records, police responded to her home in July 2020 after a Westmoreland County Children’s...
Latrobe man sent to prison for New Year’s party sexual assault
A Latrobe man will serve up to four years in prison for the sexual assault of an unconscious woman at a New Year’s party last year in Hempfield. Hunter Hoyle, 22, told a Westmoreland County judge on Thursday he was sorry for his actions in the early morning hours of...
Irwin fireman pleads guilty for role in mobile home blaze
A felony arson charge filed against an Irwin firefighter was dismissed Wednesday as part of a plea bargain that the prosecutor said came at the direction of the property owner whose vacant mobile home was destroyed in the blaze. Shawn Richard Mann, 25, of North Huntingdon, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor...
Westmoreland DA to seek death penalty against man accused of double murder
Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck says he will seek the death penalty against a North Huntingdon man accused of gunning down a Penn Township couple. The county’s top prosecutor said the May 16 fatal shootings of Jacob R. Erdeljac, 40, and his girlfriend, Mara Casale, 27, came amid a...
North Huntingdon man seeks transfer of robbery case to juvenile court
A North Huntingdon man who turned 18 earlier this year wants armed robbery charges transferred to juvenile court. During a court hearing on Tuesday, the lawyer for Elijah Ben Chaabane asked a Westmoreland County judge to reduce a $100,000 bond to allow a potential release from jail for his client...
Westmoreland commissioners mum on mask requirement as county sees substantial virus spread
The CDC on Tuesday said there is now a substantial level of coronavirus transmission in Westmoreland County, a designation that puts indoor mask requirements back under consideration for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people under updated federal guidelines. But, county leaders said no mandates have as yet been issued. “At this...
Defense claims Unity man’s confessions illegally obtained, seeks dismissal of homicide charge
The lawyer for Unity man awaiting trial in connection with the killing of a Derry mother who police say was shot while asleep in her bed last summer told a judge Tuesday that two confessions his client gave were illegally obtained. Defense attorney Emily Smarto said Nathan Quidetto should have...
Irwin man to serve probation, house arrest for friend’s fatal overdose
Franceso Ziegler told a judge that he wants to take responsibility for his friend Christopher Holleran’s 2019 overdose death. But Holleran’s family said that two years earlier, Ziegler denied any involvement in the overdose and couldn’t even bother to attend his 28-year-old friend’s funeral. Ziegler, 30, of Irwin was sentenced...
Greensburg strong-arm robbery suspect sentenced to jail, drug rehab
A Mercer County man will serve up to 23 months in jail for the robbery of a stranger they offered to drive home from a Greensburg home last year. Nikolaus A. Beers, 41, pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of robbery and theft in connection with an Jan. 21, 2020 incident...
