Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 96
Plea bargain for yawning defendant nixed by Westmoreland County judge
A Pittsburgh man’s yawns during a court hearing Friday prompted a Westmoreland County judge to reject a proposed plea bargain in which the man would plead guilty to charges related to an armed robbery last year in Jeannette. Jamar Miles, 19, of Pittsburgh, was expected to receive a sentence of...
Former Pennsylvania trooper, Army veteran gets probation for falsifying firearms document
A former Pennsylvania State Police trooper convicted this year of falsifying public documents avoided a jail sentence Friday when a Westmoreland County judge said trauma suffered by two overseas military tours were enough to mitigate the need for incarceration. Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger conceded that Chad Corbett, who...
Westmoreland County fires deputy director of elections with Nov. 3 election looming
Westmoreland commissioners fired the deputy director of the county’s elections bureau — a move that continues upheaval in the department just a month before the Nov. 3 election. County officials on Thursday would not comment on the reasons for the dismissal of Scott Sistek, who served for more than a...
Westmoreland Manor has 16 new cases of coronavirus
Another 13 residents and three employees tested positive for coronavirus at Westmoreland Manor. With the new cases, there are now 67 of the county-owed nursing home’s 336 residents and 26 staff members who have been diagnosed with covid-19 since the outbreak was first discovered in mid-September. “There have been no...
Arnold man pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter in teen’s 2016 shooting death
Aaron Waters said he will never forgive the man who shot and killed his 16-year-old daughter nearly four years ago in Arnold. “That person stole my joy, he stole my sunny days. I don’t see forgiveness in me at all. Acceptance, I have to,” Waters said Thursday during a hearing...
New Kensington woman appeals conviction on charges of helping cop killer
A New Kensington woman is appealing her conviction on charges she helped her cousin avoid capture after the 2017 killing of a police officer. In court documents filed this week, the lawyer for Lisa Harrington contends jurors should not have been allowed to watch video that depicted the Nov. 17,...
Jill Biden meets with owners of small businesses, including Holiday Travel InternationalVideo
During a campaign stop in Crabtree, Jill Biden told a small group of local Democrats and business leaders that areas such as Westmoreland County are an important part of her husband’s quest to win the presidency. As she and former Vice President Joe Biden traveled by train from Cleveland to...
Jill Biden meets with small business leaders at Rizzo’s Malabar Inn in CrabtreeVideo
During a campaign stop Wednesday in Crabtree, Jill Biden told a small group of local Democrats and business leaders that areas such as Westmoreland County are an important part of her husband’s quest to win the presidency. As she and former Vice President Joe Biden traveled by train from Cleveland...
Westmoreland doles out 1st batch of coronavirus relief funds to small businesses
Lorraine Makosky’s tanning salon in Hempfield missed out on what would have been her busy season when Pennsylvania’s nonessential businesses were shut down this spring during the coronavirus pandemic. Lorraine Marie’s Tanning finally reopened in June but, by then, the early days of spring tanning were gone and, with them,...
Westmoreland housing authority completing 1 housing development, starting 2 others
Construction of the Westmoreland County Housing Authority’s most recent project is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, and residents could move in by late October. Odin View Apartments in Hempfield, a $13.1 million project, will have 47 units in the three-story housing complex for low-income seniors and serve...
Hempfield woman charged with assaulting police, jail guards, released to await trial
A Hempfield woman charged with assaults against a police officer and guards at the Westmoreland County Prison was released from jail on unsecured bond this week. Sonya Rae Connors, 52, had been behind bars since her arrest in January after she was charged with a felony count of aggravated assault,...
7 more residents test positive for coronavirus at Westmoreland Manor in Hempfield
Seven more residents at Westmoreland Manor tested positive for coronavirus, county officials said Tuesday. With those test results, the county-owned nursing home in Hempfield has now has 54 residents and 23 employees who have been been infected with covid-19 since mid-September. No additional employees have tested positive for the virus...
Westmoreland voters could begin receiving mail-in ballots next week
Mail-in and absentee ballots are expected to be sent out to Westmoreland County voters no later than Saturday. The state’s late certification of ballots two weeks ago delayed the process and final reviews were not completed until this week, said JoAnn Sebastiani, director of the county’s elections bureau. Pending any...
Penn Township man found guilty of shooting at police
A Penn Township man who fired one shot from a high-powered rifle through a wall and toward police officers responding to a domestic violence call at his home was convicted Friday of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer. The Westmoreland County jury deliberated more than three hours before it...
9 more coronavirus cases at Westmoreland Manor
Nine more employees at Westmoreland Manor, the county-owned nursing home in Hempfield, tested positive for coronavirus, officials said Friday. According to the latest update from county officials, no additional residents have been diagnosed with coronavirus, leaving the number of infected at 47. There are currently 336 residents at the Manor....
Appeals court upholds murder conviction in Latrobe Good Samaritan killing
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the victim, who was Dan McNerny. A Pennsylvania appeals court upheld the third-degree murder conviction of a Latrobe man serving up to 20 years in prison for his role in the murder of a Good Samaritan who was killed as...
New Kensington woman sentenced to 3-7 years for helping to hide Officer Brian Shaw’s killer
A New Kensington woman was sentenced Thursday to serve at least three years in prison for helping her cousin escape capture in the hours after a city police officer was gunned down nearly three years ago. Lisa Harrington was convicted of five felony offenses and one misdemeanor for helping Rahmael...
Westmoreland jail guard accused of assaulting inmate found not guilty of excessive forceVideo
A former Westmoreland County Prison guard was acquitted Thursday of criminal charges that he threatened and assaulted an inmate during a melee at the county lockup. Jurors deliberated more than three hours in the trial of William Cappalonga, 26, of Belle Vernon before returning not guilty verdicts on charges of...
More coronavirus cases found at Westmoreland Manor; county calls in National Guard to helpVideo
As coronavirus cases at Westmoreland Manor continue to rise, county commissioners on Thursday called in the Pennsylvania National Guard to take over testing of residents and staff at the county-owned nursing home. County officials said Thursday another 14 residents and four employees tested positive for the virus. That brings the...
Westmoreland prosecutors will seek death penalty for New Kensington man in 2-year-old’s death
Westmoreland County prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a New Kensington man charged with the fatal beating of his paramour’s 2-year-old son earlier this year. In court documents filed Wednesday, Assistant District Attorney Judy Petrush cited three aggravated circumstances that, if proved, warrant a sentence of death by lethal...
Westmoreland commissioners dole out $4.3 million in covid-19 relief grants
Westmoreland County commissioners Wednesday awarded more than $4.3 million in grants to 26o small businesses that suffered financial losses because of the covid-19 pandemic. The grants were funded through $31.5 million in federal funds funneled through the state as part of the government’s coronavirus relief program. “Our goal was to...
4 more covid-19 cases reported at Westmoreland Manor
Initial coronavirus testing has been completed at Westmoreland Manor and officials said Wednesday that one additional resident and three more staffers have been infected with covid-19. Those latest results indicate that since the weekend a total of 33 residents and six employees have been diagnosed with the virus at the...
More coronavirus cases found at Westmoreland Manor
Westmoreland officials said Tuesday another 12 residents and an additional staffer at the county-owned nursing home in Hempfield tested positive for coronavirus. The latest test results means that 9.5% of the Westmoreland Manor’s 336 residents are infected. Federally mandated baseline testing for the virus started last week at the facility....
Use of force at issue in former Westmoreland prison guard’s trial
A prosecutor said a former Westmoreland County Prison guard crossed the line when he allegedly threatened and assaulted an inmate at the conclusion of a physical altercation at the lockup. “The use of force, how much is enough when he crosses the line, that’s what this case is about,” Assistant...
20 residents at Westmoreland Manor test positive for coronavirus; more cases expected
Nearly two dozen people at Westmoreland Manor tested positive for the coronavirus over the weekend, and county officials said the number of those infected could increase in the coming days. Routine testing conducted last week identified the cases among 20 residents and two staffers, of which many appeared to be...
