Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 678
Former Somerset County district attorney gets prison time for attacking woman
SOMERSET — A former Western Pennsylvania district attorney was sentenced Thursday to up to seven years in prison after a jury convicted him of attacking a woman in her home. Somerset County’s former elected District Attorney Jeffrey Thomas was sentenced to between just over two years to seven years in...
Penn Hills man charged with Scott Township shooting
A Penn Hills man has been charged in connection with a shooting in Scott Township. Juwan Haynes, 26, turned himself in to authorities Thursday night and is being held in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting arraignment, Allegheny County Police said. Police accuse Haynes of shooting a man shortly before 6:45...
Rustic Ridge residents meet with Plum officials as community begins to recover
Plum, Allegheny County and American Red Cross personnel shared resources to help residents in the borough’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood during a meeting Thursday night, in the wake of a house explosion in the neighborhood Saturday that killed six. “We want you to know that there’s a large community here that’s...
Vandergrift man sentenced to federal prison for robbing North Apollo bank in 2021
A Vandergrift man has been sentenced to serve nearly five years in a federal prison after he was convicted of robbing a North Apollo bank. Bradley Mondi, 36, was ordered by U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman IV to spend 57 months in prison followed by three years of supervised...
Shooting critically wounds man in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood; suspect in custody
A man was critically wounded in a shooting Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood, a city Public Safety spokeswoman said. The man, who is in his early 20s, was found in a grassy area near a sidewalk when city police responded to the shooting reported at about 4 p.m. at...
Westmoreland commissioners settle juvenile detention center discrimination lawsuit
Westmoreland County will pay $90,000 to the deputy director of the county’s shuttered juvenile detention center to end a federal discrimination lawsuit. Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew voted to authorize the settlement with Nicole Kamer, who claimed she was passed over for the top job at the Hempfield facility...
Plum youth football community mourns, honors Keegan ClontzVideo
Keegan Clontz’s No. 40 football jersey hung from one of the goalposts during the Plum Little Mustangs 12U scrimmage Wednesday evening against Franklin Regional at the Plum Midget Football Association fields along Ross Hollow Road. His initials also were painted on the field at the 40-yard line. They were two...
Peoples mum about possible natural gas odor in Rustic Ridge prior to house explosion
Officials at Peoples Natural Gas Co. on Thursday would not say whether they had received reports of natural gas odors in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood in the days before a fatal house explosion. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to share any information on that front, because this is all...
Shaler police identify man found dead in Allegheny River
Shaler police said the man they found dead Thursday morning in the Allegheny River was a missing township resident suffering from dementia. Mark Massimiani, 60, was found in the river near the 31st Street Bridge by a rowing group, Shaler police Chief J. Sean Frank said. Massimiani, who was last...
Remembering soccer/hockey dad who died in Plum explosion: Paul Oravitz’s heart ‘was always in the right place’
Paul Oravitz insisted his friend should come. He had called Andy Zarroli, a neighbor and friend, the night before a St. Patrick’s Day beer crawl that Oravitz and others in their Rustic Ridge neighborhood were attending. Oravitz asked Zarroli if he was coming. “I said, ‘No, I don’t want to...
Gov. Shapiro orders DEP probe of Plum house explosion
Stating that he is “extremely concerned” after a house blew up in Plum over the weekend, killing six people and causing catastrophic damage, Gov. Josh Shapiro has broadened the probe into the disaster by ordering the state Department of Environmental Protection to launch an investigation. The governor’s directive was issued...
DA Zappala video briefing draws criticism, raises ethical questionsVideo
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. is under fire for posting a video to YouTube that some have called “puzzling” and “irresponsible.” The 13-minute video — which Zappala refers to as a briefing — recounts the May 2022 killing of an 18-month-old boy in Downtown Pittsburgh, for which...
Woman charged in connection with theft of $250K from Fort Pitt Block House fund
A Pine woman who served as treasurer for the organization overseeing the historic Fort Pitt Block House is accused of embezzling more than half of the $500,000 the nonprofit organization had in its coffers to preserve Pittsburgh’s oldest building. An Allegheny County Police detective on Thursday charged Rebecca Catherine Stein,...
Fire marshal finds no signs to link 5 Plum house explosions
Allegheny County’s top emergency management official confirmed Thursday that investigators have not uncovered any links among five house explosions in Plum since the mid-1990s, including the one Saturday that killed six people and decimated part of a subdivision. Emergency Services Chief Matt Brown, who is also the county fire marshal,...
Animal rescue groups save pets from Penn Township ‘house of horrors’
A pair of Westmoreland County animal rescue groups Monday said they rescued pets from what one group described as “a house of horrors” in Penn Township. Greensburg-based Ninth Life Rescue Center and North Huntington-based All But Furgotten said they combined efforts to save the animals from an undisclosed location in...
Morning Roundup: Man accidentally shot at South Side bar, police say
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Aug. 17: Man accidentally shot at South Side bar, police say A man was accidentally shot in the bathroom of a South Side bar Wednesday night, Pittsburgh police said. Police, EMS and fire personnel responded to the incident...
1 dead after hit-and-run crash on Parkway West; suspect identified
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the Washington County man killed just before midnight Wednesday in a hit-and-run crash on the Parkway West as Husam Raji Shuibat. A vehicle hit Shuibat, 53, in the area of mile marker 67 near Green Tree and drove away, police said. The medical...
Steelers’ Hawaiian, Samoan players plan efforts to aid Maui following tragic wildfires
Shortly after his eye-opening debut in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first preseason game, rookie linebacker Nick Herbig got on Instagram to celebrate the win and his 1.5 sack, three-tackle performance. But Herbig also made sure to subtweet the NFL’s efforts to raise funds for wildfire relief on Maui. Please help my...
W.Va. man killed in Oakland hit-and-run ‘found the beauty in things,’ family recalls
James Jerry “J.J.” Vas-Patterson wasn’t born into an easy life. After his father died unexpectedly on Sept. 7, 2010, when Vas-Patterson was just 10 years old, he and his younger brothers entered foster care, family members said Wednesday. Later, he added Patterson to his last name after being adopted by...
Plum youth football players get VIP treatment at Steelers training camp
Alex Highsmith is typically gracious with his time when it comes to signing autographs or mingling with Pittsburgh Steelers fans. Thursday, though, Highsmith went overtime, making the rare double-back for a second extended period of autograph-signing at Saint Vincent College. After all, this group of young fans was different. About...
Penn Hills School District superintendent to retire in October
Penn Hills Superintendent Nancy Hines is calling it a career after more than 25 years in public education. A search is underway for her replacement. Her last day is scheduled for Oct. 1. “It just feels right,” Hines said. “It feels like the district is stable. I think the energy...
Georgia prosecutor seeks March trial date for Trump, 18 others in election case
ATLANTA — The prosecutor in Atlanta who obtained an indictment this week against former President Donald Trump and 18 others wants to take the case to trial in March. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said in a proposed scheduling order filed with the court Wednesday that she wants the...
No common links between Plum home explosions, gas company says
Peoples natural gas company officials said Wednesday there does not appear to be a common denominator linking last weekend’s fatal house explosion in Plum with four previous blasts in the borough since the mid-1990s. “At this point, there’s not any indication of any relationship,” said spokesman Nick Paradise, adding that...
Westmoreland officials hopeful Amazon warehouse portends future growth
Amazon’s plans to open a massive warehouse in New Stanton may be just the first step in a wave of economic development, Westmoreland officials said Wednesday. Amazon confirmed Tuesday it will occupy a 1 million-square foot warehouse in what has become an industrial hub for the county near the intersection...
6th victim dies from Plum house explosion
For four days, Paul Oravitz fought for his life in the UPMC Mercy burn unit as the Rustic Ridge community prayed. On Wednesday, his fight ended. Oravitz died as a result of injuries suffered in a house explosion Saturday in his home in the Rustic Ridge neighborhood of Plum. He...
