Paul Peirce stories, Page 47
No one injured when driver crashes into Murrysville police vehicle
A Murrysville policeman escaped injury Sunday after his patrol SUV was rear-ended along Pleasant Valley Road, state police said. The crash involving Patrolman Corey Fearon occurred about 8:15 a.m. when Fearon’s northbound patrol car stopped to check a disabled southbound vehicle, state police at Kiski reported. Fearon’s emergency lights were...
Delaware man pulled over on turnpike near New Stanton accused of concealing heroin
After pulling over a Delaware driver on Friday in Mt. Pleasant Township for following another vehicle too closely on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, state police discovered seven bulk packages of suspected heroin hidden inside a compartment built into his SUV, according to court documents. Jaime Cruz, 40, of Wilmington, was driving...
Latrobe Police looking for SUV involved in hit-and-run
Latrobe Police are asking the public’s help identifying the driver of an SUV that struck a building on Lincoln Avenue Sunday and fled. Police reported the crash occurred about 9 a.m. when the white vehicle struck the Holzer’s Deli store at 1700 Lincoln Ave., at the intersection of James Street....
Public hearing in February set to discuss the Saturday open to deer season
Hunters across Southwestern Pennsylvania will have a chance this month to let state officials know how they feel about having rifle deer season open on a Saturday. The House Game and Fisheries Committee announced a public hearing is planned Feb. 20 in Speers, Washington County. The meeting will be from...
Lutheran pastor from Stahlstown leans on 37 years in pulpit for new bookVideo
In 1975, Jerry Nuernberger was a 17-year-old high school senior in Illinois who had dreams of becoming a high-powered corporate lawyer and enjoying the fame and wealth he imagined came along with it. He had the grades. He was valedictorian of his senior class. School counselors and community leaders urged...
Mammoth Park’s new ‘Giant Slide’ complex expected to open in May
Cold weather and muddy conditions forced the ongoing $1.1 million Mammoth Park renovation project into hibernation, but county bureau of parks and recreation officials expect work to resume “in a few weeks,” allowing the much-anticipated Giant Slide complex to open by late May. “We’re basically shut down for winter right...
Cops: Undercover cocaine buy outside Salem strip club results in worker’s arrest
An undercover cocaine purchase outside the Beehive Showbar in Salem Township resulted in the arrest of the strip club’s front desk clerk, police said. Jeremiah J. Edwards, 50, of Salem, is charged with multiple counts of possession with intent to deliver and possession of cocaine, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Police...
Rahmael Holt’s mother convicted of hindering son’s arrest after he killed Brian Shaw
The mother of Rahmael Sal Holt, who was sentenced to death last year for shooting and killing New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw, was found guilty Thursday in Allegheny County of helping her son elude police after the 2017 shooting. In a nonjury trial, Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski found Sherry...
Cops: Hempfield student using vaping device accidentally set fire
A Hempfield Area High School student admitted she was clandestinely using a vaping device in a bathroom stall Jan. 15 when she accidentally ignited papers in a garbage can, causing the school to be evacuated, according to a state police fire marshal. The student, Diamond J. Johnston, 18, was charged...
Trooper: Paranormal investigator’s report of voice coming from Fayette cemetery unfounded
A paranormal investigator’s claim of hearing a female voice coming from “beneath a pile of dirt” in a Fayette County cemetery Wednesday was unfounded, state police said. Trooper Johnathon M. Mosier reported he was dispatched to rural Evergreen Cemetery on Morgantown Road in Springhill Township just before 10 a.m. by...
Hempfield man accused of assaulting children, ages 8 and 10
A Hempfield man is being held without bond in the Westmoreland County Prison for allegedly assaulting two children he was watching last weekend. Treson L. Smith, 25, was arraigned on two counts each of endangering the welfare of children, harassment and simple assault and a single count of strangulation. State...
Greensburg police identify 2nd wanted suspect in strong-arm robbery
Greensburg police identified a second man they say was involved in a strong-arm robbery in the city last week. On Tuesday, police obtained an arrest warrant for Nikolaus A. Beers, 39, of Mercer on charges of conspiracy, reckless endangerment, receiving stolen property, robbery, strangulation and theft. Police also released his...
Cops: Fayette County man jailed for assaulting, threatening plumber
A 58-year-old Fayette County man is in jail after barricading himself inside his Mill Run home when a dispute with a plumber turned physical, police said. Frank H. Bowers was arraigned on charges of arson, harassment, making terroristic threats, simple assault and theft. The charges were filed by state police...
Police: East Huntingdon woman abandoned kids, locked them out in cold, rain
An East Huntingdon woman remained in the county jail Monday after state police accused her of abandoning her children for hours Friday before returning home “intoxicated” and then locking them outside in the cold and rain. Donna Louise DeAugustine, 37, is charged with multiple child endangerment and corruption charges. Murrysville...
Mt. Pleasant Township man accused of sexually assaulting 10-year-old
State police have an arrest warrant for a 76-year-old Mt. Pleasant man on charges of sexually assaulting a girl on multiple occasions nearly five years ago. Donald C. Werry of Brush Creek Road was charged by state Trooper Robert Politowski with aggravated involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, aggravated...
Former Murrysville massage parlor to be sold at sheriff’s sale
A prime commercial lot and building with a notorious past along Route 22 in Murrysville is slated to be sold at Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Sale March 2. The defunct Tokyo Massage Spa at 6428 William Penn Highway, which was shut March 22 after the arrest of owner Hui Xu, will...
Good Samaritan helps troopers ID suspected meth users in New Alexandria
A Good Samaritan who expressed concern over the safety of Route 22 motorists telephoned state troopers Wednesday to report two men parked outside a Sheetz store in New Alexandria who were allegedly using drugs. Troopers subsequently arrested Travis D. Teets, 35, and Adam J. Dewitt, 34, both of Preston, W.Va.,...
Leechburg man accused of assaulting girl at Westmoreland MallVideo
A 16-year-old girl from the Greensburg area told state police a man “grabbed her by the throat, picked her up and threw her to the floor” at Westmoreland Mall last month after she replied to an off-hand comment her assailant and two juvenile companions made about her appearance. State police...
Irwin man pleads guilty in connection with Western Pa. cocaine ring
A year-long federal investigation into a southwestern Pennsylvania cocaine distribution network resulted in an Irwin man pleading guilty this week. Bernard Wilkins, 57, pleaded guilty to the two criminal counts before U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab on Tuesday in Pittsburgh, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Wilkins admitted responsibility...
Westmoreland County man assists in son’s search for kidney donationVideo
There’s no need to ask William Dolan of Mt. Pleasant Township about his 39-year-old son, William Jr.’s, need for a kidney transplant. It’s boldly advertised across the Acme man’s white pickup truck. Since last summer, the elder Dolan has been driving throughout Westmoreland and Fayette counties with a large four-by-six-foot...
Cleaveland/Price Inc. in North Huntingdon names Heller new president
Cleaveland/Price Inc., an international supplier and manufacturer of high-voltage electrical products based in North Huntingdon, named Carl Heller as its new company president. The transition took place Jan. 1, the company said. Heller has been with Cleaveland/Price for 14 years serving a variety of functions, including production planning and operations...
Powerball ticket worth $1M sold in Washington County
A Pennsylvania Powerball Lottery player in Washington County won $1 million in Saturday’s drawing, lottery officials said. The ticket matched all five white balls drawn, 20-24-38-56-68, but not the red Powerball 18, to win $1 million, less applicable withholding. The Sheetz store at 300 Racetrack Road in North Strabane, near...
Latrobe man charged with raping unconscious woman at New Year’s Eve party
A Latrobe man was arraigned Tuesday on charges of raping and sexually assaulting an unconscious woman at a New Year’s Eve party in Hempfield, state police said. Hunter J. Hoyle, 20, declined to comment as he was led from District Judge Mark Mansour’s office to be transported to the county...
Cops: Greensburg man jailed in large-screen TV sale scams
A Greensburg man wanted for two months on charges of duping patrons at two city bars into buying his large-screen television then running off with the cash was jailed Sunday on robbery and theft charges. Charles W. Brant, 43, was arraigned before District Judge Jason Buczak on two counts each...
Ligonier Township couple credits faith, ‘love of family’ for 75 years of marriageVideo
Wilma Riffle Pechart remembers Jan. 21, 1945, like it was yesterday. “There was at least 8 inches of snow on the ground, and it was very, very cold. We didn’t send out a single wedding announcement, either,” Wilma Pechart, 91, recalled Saturday at her home in Ligonier Township, with husband,...
