Plea deal drops 9 felony counts against O’Hara skills coach accused of sexually assaulting teen student
A former standout high school and college basketball player who was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage student at a skills school he operated in Ford City has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor indecent assault after prosecutors agreed to drop nine felony counts. Last October, South Buffalo police charged Mark Anthony...
Missing girl, woman found safe, Pittsburgh police say
A woman and a girl repored missing separately in July have been located and are safe, Pittsburgh police said on Thursday. • Special Victims Unit detectives said Aniyah Davis-Stackhouse, 12, had last been seen on July 24. • Dominque Durrett, 27, had last been seen on Monday, July 31 in...
Shoppers show local Latrobe businesses love at Flamingo Bingo Shop Hop Night
Being a business administration major at Westmoreland County Community College, Kaylee Dusetzina always has been a strong supporter of local businesses. “Ever since I was younger, it’s always been about supporting local businesses,” Dusetzina said. “I’ve even tried to start my own little business. You just get to know everybody...
Indiana DA finds police justified in fatal in shooting
State police were justified in the fatal shooting of a 51-year-old man killed following a traffic stop last month near Homer City, Indiana County District Attorney Robert Manzi Jr. announced Wednesday. Manzi said the monthlong investigation into the circumstances of the July 3 fatal shooting of John V. Dye determined...
‘A very long chapter’: Loved ones of synagogue shooting victims react to jury’s death penalty voteVideo
Nearly five years ago they gathered in a room at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill, the bloodshed and horror still fresh, to await information about their loved ones — who lived, who died, who was wounded. The Tree of Life synagogue shooting had just happened, and family members...
Penn Hills man Tased, arrested after fighting with officer
A Penn Hills man was Tased by police on Aug. 2 after he attempted to change vehicles and fight an officer after being pulled over on Saltsburg Road. Police initiated a traffic stop just before 7 p.m. on Mark A. Turner, 49, of Stotler Road, who they said was driving...
North Allegheny hosts active shooter response training for North Hills officers
It’s training police officers hope to never use. “Heaven forbid, if (an active shooter event) would happen, they would have to familiarity with the buildings,” said Greg Garcia, a Ross Township police officer and and member of the North Hills Special Response Team. Police officers from throughout Allegheny County’s northern...
Judge OKs access to mental health records in firearms prosecution of Trump defender
Westmoreland County prosecutors will have access to the mental health records of a Hunker man who was charged with illegal gun possession at a Delmont restaurant where he claimed he was defending former President Donald Trump. Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger authorized the release of records as part of a...
Indiana DA finds police justified in fatal shooting
State police were justified in the fatal shooting of a 51-year-old man killed following a traffic stop last month near Homer City, Indiana County District Attorney Robert Manzi Jr. announced Wednesday. Manzi said the monthlong investigation into the circumstances of the July 3 fatal shooting of John V. Dye determined...
Multimedia gallery: Pittsburgh synagogue shooter trial Day 37Video
After hearing weeks of grueling, graphic and often heartbreaking testimony, a jury unanimously decided Wednesday that Robert Bowers should be put to death for killing 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue nearly five years ago. The panel of seven women and five men deliberated about 10 hours over two days....
Decision on Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s fate draws reaction from victims’ families, Jewish community, others
Almost immediately after a jury recommended the death penalty for Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Robert Bowers, statements began to pour in from family members of victims and survivors, Jewish leaders, politicians and others. “Although we will never attain closure from the loss of our beloved Rose Mallinger, we now feel a...
Remembering the lives lost in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
Joyce Fienberg, 75, traveled the world during her lifetime, but she couldn’t dream of living anywhere other than her beloved Pittsburgh. Her family recalled her as a dedicated attendee at Tree of Life who always put others’ needs ahead of her own. Read more about Fienberg. Richard Gottfried, 65, was...
Trib Total Media partners with Citizens to support clean energy efforts by nonprofits
Local nonprofits with a commitment to clean energy/utility efficiency can win $50,000 and media coverage through a new program from Citizens Financial Group and Trib Total Media. Applications are open for the Champions in Action program in the category of energy efficiency/renewable energy at citizensbank.com/champions. The deadline is Aug. 18....
Former police chief takes on new public-service role as Rotary district governor
John Hartman is no stranger to public service, having spent a career in law enforcement including a stint as chief of the Southwest Regional Police. But outside of his police uniform, Hartman has also lived a life of volunteering the past eight years with the Murrysville-Export Rotary Club, where he...
Aspinwall’s Night Out will feature live music, activities for kids
A celebration in recognition of first responders and community spirit is set to take place in Aspinwall. The borough’s annual Big Night Out is planned for 6-9 p.m. Aug. 10 at the Aspinwall Recreation Site along Field Avenue. It is presented by Aspinwall Neighbors, a community organisation dedicated to promoting...
Timeline: Pittsburgh synagogue shooting case
Oct. 27, 2018: Robert Bowers enters the Tree of Life synagogue at the corner of Wilkins and Shady avenues in Squirrel Hill and opens fire, killing 11 congregants and wounding two others. Five responding police officers are also injured, including four by gunfire. It is the deadliest antisemitic attack in...
Westmoreland 250: 10 unique things in Irwin
(Editor’s note: To mark Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday this year, we’ve come up with a list of 250 things — 10 things in 25 communities — that we consider to be important to the makeup of our area. This series will appear each week through December. If you have a...
Comedian Whatule brothers bring the funny to their native Jeannette
Rocky and Michael Whatule are sure people in Westmoreland County have a sense of humor. They’re just lacking places to exercise it. The brothers are aiming to remedy that with the weekend opening of their Pagliacci’s Comedy Club at Cafe Italiano in their native Jeannette. Pagliacci’s takes its name from...
Pittsburgh synagogue shooter should be put to death, jury decidesVideo
As they have been for the past two months, and for more than four years before that, people who survived the 2018 mass shooting at the Squirrel Hill synagogue and those who lost family members there were resolute. Filling three rows of seats behind the prosecutors who had advocated for...
Ford City insurance agent guilty of working with lapsed license, taking money for bogus policy
An Armstrong County insurance agent pleaded guilty to operating with an expired license and taking money from a customer for a policy that never was issued. Last summer, the state Attorney General’s Officie charged Thomas John Scheeren, 42, of the 100 block of Sherwood Drive in East Franklin with felony...
Irwin author to sign book on serial killer
An Irwin man who once was a police officer in Ocean City, Md., has written a psychological thriller about a serial killer who is a sexual predator. Daniel Rose, 70, the owner of World Class Pool Pros, a pool builder in North Huntingdon, wrote “Little Boy Blue,” a 360-page realistic...
Jury reaches decision in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting case
The jury considering the fate of the man who killed 11 people at a Squirrel Hill synagogue nearly five years ago has reached a decision on whether the man will be sentenced to death or life in prison. The clerk’s office in U.S. District Court said around 11:15 a.m. Wednesday...
Tarentum residents will pay $10 monthly fee for extra trash cans
Tarentum residents who require an extra trash can will pay an additional $10 a month for the service. The borough on July 1 changed from unlimited collection to a new “cart service” contract through Waste Management, which allotted each property one 96-gallon can. The $10 monthly fee is a switch...
Officials say urban search and rescue task force for Pittsburgh area badly needed
After Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed into a ravine one snowy morning in 2022, it took hours before authorities could confirm that no one had been killed or trapped beneath the rubble. Pennsylvania’s only urban search and rescue team with dogs trained to locate victims of structural collapses is based...
Donors to GoFundMe account created by parents of Delmont boy can request refund
Donors to an online fundraiser started by a Delmont couple arrested last week in the death of their 5-year-old adopted son can request refunds, according to a GoFundMe spokesperson. The online fundraiser started by Lauren E. Maloberti, 34, and Jacob N. Maloberti, 33, has been removed from the GoFundMe platform....