Tony LaRussa stories, Page 29
Trooper: Man drove high with kids in vehicle, child endangerment charges filed
State police arrested a Pittsburgh man in North Buffalo Township after a trooper accused him of driving with three children in the car while being high on marijuana. Leroy Lamar Grace Jr., 30, of Tybee Street in the city’s Sheraden neighborhood, faces two felony counts of endangering the welfare of...
Police: West Deer man arrested on felony gun charge during domestic dispute
A West Deer man who is prohibited from owning a firearm was charged with a felony after police officers responding to a dispute said they found a loaded shotgun next to his nightstand. David Meadows, 33, , was charged with one count of illegal possession of a firearm along with...
Gilpin man arrested after girl, 17, found at his house tested positive for drugs
A Gilpin man was charged with a felony after a county child protective services caseworker told police they believed a teen girl who was living with him was in danger. Police said the 17-year-old tested positive for multiple drugs after being taken to a residential youth facility. Dennis Kreashko, 57,...
Police: Teen girl missing from New Kensington since April back home
A teenage girl from New Kensington who had been missing since late April returned home. New Kensington police on Friday morning issued a news release and posted on social media that Sarah Chessario, 14, is home. At the time Chessario went missing, police were seeking the public’s help locating another...
Police: Woman, man arrested on theft charges after she flags down Frazer officer
A woman who flagged down a Frazer police officer to report that she was ditched by the man she was with at a shopping center faces felony charges after, authorities say, she had conspired with the man to steal alcohol from a state liquor store. Jade Marie Martin, 38, of...
Pine splash pad set to open on Memorial Day
Pine’s popular aquatic playground is set to open to the public for its third season on May 30. Located near the soccer fields in Pine Community Park, the aquatic playground has more than three dozen sprays, fountains and other water features. During the coronavirus pandemic, the township switched to requiring...
Tarentum woman faces felony charges after police say 3-year-old found wandering outside
A Tarentum woman was charged with three felony counts of child endangerment after police say bystanders found her 3-year-old daughter wandering outside after the woman left the girl at home alone. Leah Marie Frantz, 30, of the 300 block of West 10th Avenue, faces a preliminary hearing on the charges...
AHN, county create ‘ecotherapy trail’ in North Park
Sometimes doing things to stay fit helps with bit of encouragement. So, Allegheny County is teaming up with Allegheny Health Network and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield to help give visitors to North Park a little mindful motivation by creating an “Ecotherapy Trail.” The project, announced at an unveiling earlier...
AHN Wexford Hospital hosting ‘Meet Dr. Right’ event to match patients with physicians
Allegheny Health Network’s new Wexford Hospital in Pine is trying to ease the reluctance some patients experience when seeing a physician for the first time. Instead of finding the right doctor through trial-and-error, residents in the North Hills can meet a number of the hospital’s doctors before scheduling an appointment....
Washington Township man sentenced to 12-24 years in prison in hatchet attack incident
A man from Washington Township was sentenced to 12 to 24 years in state prison after pleading no contest to accusations that he hit his ex-fiancee with a hatchet, which was still sticking out of her head when emergency responders arrived at her home in Butler County. Dean Jay Law,...
New Kensington woman accuses man of forcing his way into home, trying to suffocate her
New Kensington police arrested a man after a woman accused him of forcing his way into her apartment and trying to suffocate her with a blanket when she began screaming. Lee Williams, 19, of Linden Avenue in McKees Rocks was charged with a felony count of burglary along with strangulation...
Arnold man charged with 15 felonies after girl tells police he began assaulting her when she was 12
Police have charged an Arnold man with 15 felonies after a teenage girl reported that he sexually assaulted her multiple times starting when she was 12 years old. Scott Ellis Selinger, 36, of the 1500 block of Victoria Avenue, faces a preliminary hearing before District Judge Carolyn Bengel on May...
Upper Burrell police arrest man after girlfriend tells them beating required removal of spleen
Upper Burrell police filed felony charges against a man after his girlfriend told them she needed surgery to remove her spleen after he stomped on her during an argument. Marcus Lamont Obey, 41, of the 400 block of 11th Street in New Kensington, was charged with felony counts of aggravated...
Police: Contractor who swindled pastor also ripped off church employee from Richland
A home improvement contractor who is awaiting trial on charges that he never showed up to do the work after cashing a $15,000 check from a church in West Deer has been accused of doing the same thing to a Richland homeowner who works at the same church. Northern Regional...
Arnold police say woman drove carelessly with kids in car, felony charges filed
Arnold police charged a woman with felony counts of endangering the welfare of children after, they said, she drove carelessly with her young children in the vehicle. Mariah Chanta Gordon, 27, of the 1200 block of Constitution Avenue in New Kensington, faces two felony counts of endangering the welfare of...
Police: Man faces felony gun charge after hitting New Kensington woman with pistol during dispute
A Penn Hills man faces a felony firearm charge after a woman accused him of striking her with a handgun during an argument at her New Kensington apartment. Rashaad Kahill Blair, 26, of the 1000 block of Olympic Heights Drive, was charged with illegal possession of a firearm and defiant...
Fundraiser set up to fulfill dream of Pine-Richland 3rd grader who suffered near-fatal injury
Doctors say it will be a while before Pine-Richland third-grader Josie Kovacic is able to do the things she did before suffering a traumatic spinal injury in late February while on a ski slope. But when the Wexford Elementary School pupil is ready, friends and family are hoping to make...
Police: 2 Allegheny Valley Hospital patients attacked medical staff, hospital police
Two people who were patients at Allegheny Valley Hospital face multiple felony charges after police charged them with attacking medical staff during separate incidents. Lea Ashley Slusar, 28, of the 1400 block of Fifth Avenue in Arnold, was charged May 6 by Highmark Health Police with three felony counts of...
Richland man tells cops he stole car to deliver food
A Richland man accused of stealing a car told police that he took the vehicle so he could earn some money delivering food for restaurants. Robert Proehl, 38, of the 100 block of Chowning Court, was charged by Northern Regional Police with felony counts of theft and receiving stolen property....
Police: Kittanning woman jailed in connection with meth sale during sting operation in Leechburg
State police accused a woman of being a drug dealer after police say an informant bought methamphetamine from her in Leechburg two years ago. Debbie Ann Russo, 44, of the 1000 block of Johnston Avenue in Kittanning, was charged with a felony count of possession of drugs with the intent...
Police accuse Tarentum man of threatening landlord, leaving 2 loaded guns within reach of 5-year-old boy
A Tarentum man faces felony child endangerment and other charges after police accused him of leaving two loaded guns within reach of his 5-year-old son after threatening to shoot his landlord during a dispute. Anthony Ponzetti, 33, of the 300 block of Seventh Avenue, was charged with a felony count...
Tarentum police charge man with selling heroin following sting operation
A man from East Deer was ordered to stand trial on felony drug charges after police accused him of selling heroin to an informant. Travis Black, 46, whose last known address was in the 300 block of Crawford Run Road, was charged by Tarentum police with three felony drug charges...
State trooper arrests Parks Township man carrying stolen gun while walking along Route 28
A Parks Township man was arrested by state police after he told them that he stole the gun he was carrying while walking along the Route 28 expressway in Harmar. Michael Joseph Crocker, 22, of the 1300 block of Gravel Bar Road, was charged with felony counts of receiving stolen...
State police accuse Vandergrift man of driving drunk with cocaine, stolen gun in car
State police have charged a Vandergrift man with having cocaine and a stolen gun in his car while driving drunk. James Artis Alexander, 30, of the 600 block of Hancock Avenue, was charged with felony counts of carrying a firearm without a permit, possession of drugs with the intent to...
Police: Springdale man tasered while resisting arrest for indecent exposure warrant
Allegheny County sheriff’s detectives say they had to use a stun gun to subdue a Springdale man after he scuffled with them and tried to grab the stun gun when they came to arrest him May 2 on a warrant for indecent exposure. The indecent exposure charge, a misdemeanor, is...
