Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 23
New Kensington man pleads guilty to drive-by shooting of high school classmate
A New Kensington man was ordered Tuesday to serve up to 14 years in prison for the attempted homicide of two occupants of a vehicle during a drive-by shooting in New Kensington. Ernest Gary IV, 20, pleaded guilty to seven offenses including two counts of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, reckless...
Dominican trucker faces second deportation for New Stanton fentanyl sale
Westmoreland County prosecutors said a Dominican Republic national faces deportation for the second time after he serves an eight-year prison sentence for selling fentanyl to an undercover state trooper two years ago in New Stanton. Leonardo Antonio Ramirez was convicted in May by a Westmoreland County jury of three drug-related...
Westmoreland County braces for revenue drop as FCC caps inmate calling fees
Westmoreland officials are bracing for what could be a substantial cut in revenue generated through phone and video calls made by county prison inmates. A new rule issued earlier this month by the Federal Communications Commission limits the amount private companies can charge inmates for calling services. Those new rules...
New Kensington man pleads guilty to sexual assault of teen
A New Kensington man pleaded guilty Monday to the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. Nasai Minon Parker-Hill, 19, will be sentenced later this year to three to seven years in prison under terms of a plea deal reached with prosecutors in which the most serious allegations — rape and...
Teen’s mom pleads with judge to protect community from sex offender
The mother of an Arnold girl pleaded with a Westmoreland County judge to protect the public from a man she said she fears would sexually assault another child. “It is your place to make sure he takes those (sex offender) classes so he never does this again. If he doesn’t,...
Experts call for caution as rush to assess new polls in presidential race intensifies
It’s a new ballgame for pollsters. The models, statistics, results and interpretation of public opinion gathered throughout 2024 and over the past three years was tossed out the window last weekend when President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race. With the race now shifted to feature Vice President Kamala...
Jeannette company sued after rescinding job offer based on medical marijuana use
An Indiana County man is suing a Jeannette plastic lumber manufacturer, claiming company officials violated state employment laws when they rescinded a job based on the results of his drug test. Michael Howard claims in a two-count lawsuit filed this week in Westmoreland County that he was improperly rejected for...
Jeannette shutters K9 program as ‘cost prohibitive’
Jeannette officials on Thursday announced the city has shuttered its police department’s K9 unit. “Critically, any new and unknown costs associated with the program made maintaining the program cost prohibitive in light of the city’s already stretched funding and budgetary constraints,” according to a statement released by city leaders. The...
Latrobe man alleges packing firm wrongly fired him after he reported safety issues
A Latrobe man claimed in a federal lawsuit filed this week he was improperly fired from a packaging manufacturer as retaliation after reporting suspected safety issues. Patrick Mitchell, in a six-count complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, said he became ill while working at Opco Inc., a Latrobe-based...
Vandergrift woman pleads guilty to sex assault of teen
A Vandergrift woman was sentenced serve up to four years in prison for sexually assaulting a teen girl. Ashley Elizabeth Valore, 36, pleaded guilty to felony counts of statutory sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault for repeated encounters with a 15-year-old girl. According to court records, the teen told police...
Hyde Park man to serve probation for child pornography possession
A Hyde Park man was spared a prison sentence Tuesday, arguing that his personal domestic challenges led to depression that caused him to spiral into criminal behavior. Joshua Glen Townsend, 34, was ordered to serve one year on house arrest as part of a three-year probation sentence. He pleaded guilty...
Sewickley Township woman to serve 6-15 years in prison for fatal Arona Road crash
Jason Yarosik said his aunt was the glue that held his family together. Dawn Coyne, 57, of Madison spent years caring for her ailing husband who died from cancer in 2017, loved all three of her now adult children and served as a manager of the Goodwill store in North...
Greensburg man pleads guilty to assault on police officer
A Greensburg man was ordered Monday to serve up to 42 months in state prison for the drunken aggravated assault of a police officer last year in Latrobe. Bruce Hudak, 41, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and drunk driving offenses in connection an incident last Aug. 17. According to court...
Westmoreland transit ends ConnectCard fare system
The Westmoreland County Transit Authority on Friday halted the use of the cashless ConnectCard fare system that had been in place on its fixed-route bus system since 2018. Initially touted as customer service advancement that allowed bus riders to pay fares without having exact cash, the system never flourished, suffered...
South Greensburg man’s scuffle with security at Hempfield Area High School could have been avoided, judge says
A South Greensburg man was sentenced to serve one year of probation for an altercation with security officers who attempted to prevent him from entering Hempfield Area High School without a mask during covid-era restrictions in 2021. Richard Michael Bettis, 58, was convicted during of misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest,...
Westmoreland Judge Feliciani recognized for drug court advocacy
In the nine years since its inception, Westmoreland County’s Drug Court has helped dozens of participants struggling with addiction to turn their lives around. Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani has been at the center of that program since its beginning in 2015 and recently received the Anthony “Tony” Marcocci...
Latrobe man called danger to community sentenced to 3-year prison term
A Westmoreland County judge said he had no choice this week but to impose a three-year maximum prison sentence for a Latrobe man who pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of a teenage girl. Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger ordered Cristofer R. Dowden, 25, to serve at least 18...
Westmoreland OKs new jobs, more pay for human service staffers
Westmoreland commissioners on Thursday added 32 jobs to the county payroll to expand the fledgling human services department and help ease staffing concerns at Westmoreland Manor. Commissioners also extended the workday for 10 human services administrators in what officials said was a coordinated effort to enhance public outreach and could...
Judge limits taxpayer funds for father’s death penalty defense in New Kensington slaying
A Westmoreland County judge said she will limit defense spending of taxpayer funds for the pending trial of a Brackenridge man who faces a potential death sentence in connection with the alleged killing of his 9-year-old son. Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio said Wednesday excessive costs incurred by public defenders...
Beaver Run’s water levels remain OK despite dry spell, authority officials say
Water levels at Beaver Run Reservoir remain far above the limit where conservation efforts need to be enacted, Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials said Wednesday. The recent dry spell that has turned lawns brown and wilted flower gardens in Western Pennsylvania has so far not stressed the primary water...
North Huntingdon man pleads guilty to sexual assault of teen
A North Huntingdon man was ordered Tuesday to serve up to four years in prison for sexual assault of a teenage girl. Brandon Roy Satolli, 29, pleaded guilty to felony counts of statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and child pornography in connection with allegations from last July in which...
Conservator says he expects to scale back role in Register of Wills office
Conservator Jim Antoniono said Tuesday his intensive oversight of the beleaguered Westmoreland County Register of Wills Office is no longer needed. “I feel comfortable with the new leadership. My time over there is going to be really limited to just making sure it is going in the right direction,” Antoniono...
Marinucci appeal rejected by state Supreme Court
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of a Greensburg woman who claims her 60-years-to-life prison sentence for her role in the 2010 torture slaying of a mentally disabled woman should be overturned. Angela Marinucci, 32, has argued the latest sentence imposed in 2022 was unconsitutional and was...
Texas lab to use advanced DNA testing to help Westmoreland investigators with cold cases
Westmoreland County investigators will tap into advanced DNA testing in an attempt to formulate new leads or identify suspects as part of an effort to solve violent crime cold cases. District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli this week announced the hiring of Othram Inc., a Texas-based company, to evaluate and study DNA...
Defense seeks to bar testimony in appeal of decades-old Jeannette arson murder case
Attorneys for a former Jeannette man in prison for the deaths of his wife and two young children killed three decades ago in a house fire are seeking to bar new testimony about the origins of the fatal blaze. James Young, 57, was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder...
