Western PA Local News category, Page 2049
Man hospitalized in Homewood North shooting
A man was hospitalized late Thursday after being shot in the abdomen, according to Pittsburgh police. Officers responded to a Shotspotter alert on Brushton Avenue in Homewood North around 11:10 p.m. The man told investigators that a woman shot him and then ran into a wooded area. He was taken...
McKeesport store owner gets 2 years in federal prison for food stamp fraud
A Glassport man has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison for running a food stamp fraud and money laundering scheme out of his McKeesport grocery store. Sin Y Sit, 46, was convicted of conspiring to defraud the federal government of between $250,000 and $550,000 over a...
Imperial day care operator charged by grand jury with tax fraud
A federal grand jury has accused an Imperial day care operator of pocketing payroll taxes from employees and failing to report the money rather than turning it over to the Internal Revenue Service. Rebecca Lynn Boyce, 42, of Imperial is facing a slew of tax fraud charges in an indictment...
Police: Woman rescued after car went over hillside in the South Side
A woman was rescued Thursday after her car careened over a hillside in Pittsburgh’s South Side. Public Safety spokesman Maurice Matthews said Pittsburgh emergency responders were dispatched to the 2800 block of Patterson Street around 1 p.m. They saw a car on the wooded hillside between Patterson and Josephine streets....
Police: 2 crashes in Monroeville result in 4 people hospitalized
Monroeville police are investigating separate crashes Thursday that both resulted in two people being sent to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. Chief Doug Cole said the first wreck took place along James Street at Speelman Lane near the Monroeville Mall around 12:15 p.m. Officers directed traffic around the crash site as...
Rostraver man sentenced up to 2 years in jail after pleading guilty to child pornography charges
A Rostraver man could spend about 17 more months in the Westmoreland Count Prison after pleading guilty Thursday to child pornography charges. Benjamin D. Powell, 38, was sentenced by Westmoreland Judge Christopher Feliciani to one year, less one day to two years, less two days in return for pleading guilty...
Latrobe woman sentenced to 8-to-16 years on rape, child sex charges
A 34-year-old Latrobe woman has been sentenced to 8-to-16-years in state prison Thursday for having sex with two teenage boys in a Unity home, starting as far back as 2004 and as recently as 2016. Shanda Rae Hitchcock was sentenced by Westmoreland Judge Timothy Krieger as a result of her...
Youth soccer association treasurer from Beaver County admits to stealing $100,000
The former treasurer of a youth soccer organization in Beaver County admitted to stealing $100,000 for personal expenses. Jenessa Tolejko, 35, of Beaver pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of wire fraud, Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced Thursday. Tolejko served as treasurer of the Brighton Township-Beaver...
West Virginia man admits to stealing $2.5 million in mining equipment
A West Virginia man pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to five thefts of specialized mine equipment that occurred in Armstrong and Indiana counties. Eudell Dickerson, 46, of Beckley, W.Va., pleaded guilty to two counts before Chief U.S. District Judge Mark R. Hornak. The court was advised of...
Beaver County tax collector pleads guilty to embezzling $1M from Center Township, school district
The elected tax collector for Center Township in Beaver County admitted to embezzling $1 million from the township and school district and filing a false tax return. Jeanne Bowser, 62, of Aliquippa pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of wire fraud and filing false income tax returns, Acting United...
Leechburg Area’s $1.1M sports complex project to begin next month
A project to improve Leechburg Area School District’s Veterans Field Sports Complex will begin in early May and be completed before the Blue Devils’ football and soccer teams begin their seasons, said Superintendent Tiffany Nix. The school board voted Wednesday to hire FieldTurf to install a synthetic turf field and...
News and events in the greater Murrysville area for the week of April 29, 2021
Submit news and events to the Murrysville Star by emailing pvarine@triblive.com. Food collection event set for May 1 Busy Beaver and the Rotary Club of Delmont-Salem will host a May 1 food collection event for the Westmoreland County Food Bank. It will be from 8:30-11:30 a.m. in the former AMC...
Pittsburgh ‘made a mistake’ on thousands of tax bills
Pittsburgh’s finance department “made a mistake” when it didn’t include tax discounts or abatements on thousands of tax bills this year, city Finance Director Douglas Anderson said Thursday. “The mistake was made,” Anderson said. It means several thousand taxpayers in Pittsburgh who use programs like the Homestead exemption or the...
Franklin Regional Thespian Club goes live for spring play, ‘The Dining Room’
Ian Sunny has played plenty of characters during his four years in the Thespian Club at Franklin Regional Senior High School. For his final production, he and seven cast mates will get the chance to revel in not one, but up to four “final” roles. “This is a chance to...
Classic, custom cars line Level Green to show support for child battling cancer
Oliver Tester, 5, of Level Green, is a big fan of the Subaru WRX. So when staff at Tester’s school, Level Green Elementary, decided to organize a drive-by on April 24 in support of Tester, who has been battling high-grade soft-tissue sarcoma, they made sure the car company’s sporty compact...
Greensburg man charged with raping toddler
A Greensburg man was arrested by state troopers Thursday, charged with raping a toddler two years ago, according to court documents. James A. Swanson, 44, was charged with aggravated indecent assault of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and rape of a child. State police say the assaults occurred on...
Valley High School teacher accused of sending sexual texts to student
A Valley High School teacher is accused of sending inappropriate sexual text messages to an underage student. Police charged Sean Timothy O’Neil, 34, of North Apollo with felony counts of disseminating explicit sexual materials to a minor, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors and criminal use of a...
Norwin area charges filed as of April 29, 2021
Charges filed with North Huntingdon District Judge Wayne Gongaware. All individuals have the right to a preliminary hearing and are innocent until proven guilty before a judge in Westmoreland County Court. • Donna L. Rich, 55, of Irwin, by borough police with aggravated assault, simple assault and harassment. • Aaron...
Norwin area happenings include scavenger hunt, tax rebates
Pet Friends plans scavenger hunt Pet Friends Inc. of Irwin, will hold a scavenger hunt/word game fundraiser from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 15 in downtown Irwin. The event will include a meet and greet with the cats and dogs that are available for adoption, a police K-9 demonstration,...
East Huntingdon contractor accused of taking $41K in deposits for home remodeling work never started
An East Huntingdon contractor is charged with three counts of home improvement fraud, accused of accepting more than $41,000 in down payments for three remodeling jobs he never started, according to court documents. Jason Ray Pirl, 40, who does business as Proline Painting, was arraigned on three felony charges filed...
Peduto announces $115 million in commitments from regional nonprofits for OnePGHVideo
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto released a plan Thursday that could result in $115 million from the region’s nonprofits to fund affordable housing, recreation and social service programs. The funds would go through a new standalone entity called OnePGH. “Today we are setting a new model for cities around the county...
ATI announces $7.9M 1st quarter loss as Steelworkers strike continues
Allegheny Technologies Inc. reported a $7.9 million loss in the first quarter of 2021, but the company said it anticipates demand for its jet engine products will increase as air travel recovers from the covid pandemic. “Our first-quarter financial results exceeded expectations, benefiting from the ongoing modest recovery in jet...
Man sentenced to death in killing of Upper St. Clair woman granted new hearingVideo
A Washington County man who was convicted of killing an elderly Upper St. Clair woman in 2003 and given the death penalty will get a new sentencing hearing. Patrick Stollar, 42, appeared on a video screen from prison during a brief hearing on Thursday before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge...
Penn Hills kindergarten teachers visit homes of new students for nontraditional orientationVideo
Necessity might be the mother of all invention but covid-19 is the crazy uncle. The pandemic has disrupted traditions and plans — kindergarten orientation being one of them. But at Penn Hills Elementary School, teachers and staff figured out a way to do it a bit differently. Instead of new...
3 seats up on McCandless council, only 1 race in spring primary
Three of the seven seats on McCandless Town Council are up for reelection this year, but there is only one race in the spring primary among the candidates seeking office. Ward 2 Incumbent representative Shelly Spohnholz, who was appointed in May to fill an unexpired term that runs through 2021,...
