Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 28
Former Westmoreland prison guard will serve time for role in inmate assault
A former Westmoreland County Prison guard was ordered to serve time in the facility where he once worked. Brian Joseph Prinkey, 27, of Connellsville was sentenced Friday to serve 10 days to 23 months behind bars at the county lockup for his role in the assault of an inmate there...
Saltsburg man sentenced to 40-year prison term for kidnapping, sexual assault of child
A Saltsburg man was ordered to serve up to 40 years in prison for the sexual assault of one of two young children police say he kidnapped from a New Kensington home in 2021. Eddie Leroy Lambert Jr., 60, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of kidnapping minors, involuntary deviate...
Westmoreland municipal authority says rains pump 2 billion gallons into Beaver Run Reservoir
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials prayed for rain as drought conditions caused water levels to significantly fall off at the start of 2024 and triggered a mandatory water conservation order for customers. Prayers answered. Rains over the last three days have caused water levels at the Beaver Run Reservoir...
Staff rebuts Register of Wills’ work claims, contends office improving but still plagued by backlogs
Westmoreland County Register of Wills employees described a courthouse office in disarray and neglected by its elected office holder, Republican Sherry Magretti Hamilton, during Wednesday’s resumption of a contempt of court hearing. During the daylong hearing, Rachael Lute, a clerk in the Register of Wills Office, said, between 2016 and...
East Huntingdon man’s bond revoked over safety concerns
An East Huntingdon man charged with the attempted murders of police officers was returned to jail Wednesday after a Westmoreland County judge said his continued freedom presented a danger to the community. James R. Miller Jr., 61, had been free for the last two weeks after he paid $500,000 bail...
Seward man gets probation to resolve case involving sex with then-14-year-old girl
A Seward man was ordered to serve two years on probation after for an indecent assault against a teenage girl. Westmoreland County prosecutors dropped four felony counts against Timmy Carl Betts, 38, including statutory sexual assault and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse after the now 20-year-old accuser testified during a hearing...
Duquesne man accused of shooting at New Kensington police takes plea deal
Attempted homicide charges were dismissed Tuesday against an Allegheny County man who was charged with firing shots at three New Kensington police officers. J’Lamar J. Washington, 21, of Duquesne pleaded guilty to lesser counts of aggravated assault in connection with the Feb. 4, 2020, incident on Kenneth Avenue. Authorities said...
Westmoreland commissioners reschedule night meeting
Westmoreland County commissioners have delayed board’s first evening public meeting in decades for one week. Commissioners earlier this year revamped the schedule for public meetings to include a voting session that was to be conducted at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the courthouse in Greensburg. Officials said a scheduling conflict...
Mom can’t explain son’s role in Hempfield bank robbery
Latreace Anna Jackson never suspected the trajectory of her son’s life would lead her to a Westmoreland County courtroom. “The weight of my son’s crime is enormous. At first, I was in disbelief when I found out it was him. I thought, why? It was not his character,” Jackson of...
Tarentum man pleads guilty to assault that left woman’s jaw broken
A Tarentum man pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he stomped on a woman’s head during an assault last year at an Arnold home. Malachi Supreme Hayes, 26, was ordered to serve 11 1/2 to 23 months in jail but was immediately paroled after having served nearly a year in...
Primary ballots to be mailed out starting next week
Voters can start using mail-in ballots next week, Westmoreland County election officials said. Pennsylvania primary is April 23, but mail-in ballots will be available at the courthouse starting Monday, March 25. Voters who already requested mail-in ballots could see them arrive in their mail boxes starting the following Monday, April...
Ray Shetler, acquitted of murder in 2015 police officer’s killing, sentenced for parole violations
A former New Florence man acquitted of murder in the 2015 shooting of a St. Clair police officer will be eligible for parole in just over two months under a new sentence imposed Friday. Ray A. Shetler Jr., 39, of Saltsburg, was given a 5-year sentence for violating probation, but...
Hempfield man pleads guilty to sex assault of teen
A Hempfield man was ordered to serve up to 12 years in prison for the sexual assault of a teenage girl. Michael Flowers, 25, pleaded guilty Thursday to one felony count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse related a sexual encounter with a then 13-year-old girl in 2017. According to court...
Sheetz seeks to dismiss lawsuit filed by Perryopolis victim’s family for fatal head-on crash
Lawyers for Altoona-based Sheetz Inc. have asked a Westmoreland County judge to dismiss the company from a wrongful death lawsuit related to a 2022 fatal crash on Interstate 70 in South Huntingdon. The family of 25-year-old David Ott of Perryopolis filed a lawsuit months after he was killed in a...
Hydrants, waterlines questioned in wake of fatal Jeannette blaze
Jeannette fire Chief Bill Frye said the city’s aging waterlines impacted firefighters’ ability to extinguish an overnight blaze that killed a father and his four young children in a Guy Street home. Both Frye and Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials confirmed Wednesday a 6-inch water line feeds into the...
CNX Resources to pay nearly $13K for each 1.5 million gallons drawn from Beaver Run for fracking
A week after water use restrictions were lifted for customers served by Beaver Run Reservoir, a Canonsburg company was given a contract that allows it to buy 51 million gallons of water to use in fracking at nearby gas wells, Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials said Wednesday. The authority...
Westmoreland housing authority plots path to solar power
The Westmoreland County Housing Authority wants more power. Officials on Tuesday said a proposed solar farm built on property behind the authority-owned Hempfield Towers could benefit the low-income senior high-rise apartment building and nearby county facilities such as the jail, juvenile detention center and nursing home. “We’re looking for funding...
Appeals court allows whistleblower lawsuit against Pa. GOP caucus
A whistleblower lawsuit filed by the former chief of staff for state Rep. Eric Davanzo can proceed, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court has ruled. A three-judge panel this month rejected an effort from the Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus to dismiss the lawsuit filed in 2022 by Marcel Nicole Ingram, who claimed she...
Bail is excessive for man accused of tussling with New Kensington police, his attorney says
A Homewood man who was temporarily using a wheelchair following a confrontation with police in January can be released from jail if he posts a $100,000 bond, a judge ruled Monday. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears said Anthony Swann, 47, can pay 10% of the bond, $10,000, and...
Mt. Pleasant Township man allowed to embrace his mother before being returned to jail on charges he tried to stab her to death
The criminal case against a Mt. Pleasant Township man charged with the attempted homicide of his mother will continue even though she no longer wants to see her son jailed for the alleged attack, a Westmoreland County prosecutor said. Judge Scott Mears allowed Kort Noel Eckman, 46, and his mother,...
Westmoreland tourism plan will pay for park upgrades
With Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday in the rearview mirror, local leaders are eyeing the United States’ semiquincentennial in 2026. Commissioners last week approved a plan to divert more than $1.3 million in local hotel revenue to fund tourism programs this year. But they also are looking ahead to celebrations planned...
Westmoreland prison warden gets $11,000 raise as county boosts salaries of some employees
Westmoreland County’s new warden, on the job for less than a month, has been given an $11,000 raise. Commissioners and Controller Jeffrey Balzer, acting as the county’s salary board this week, approved raises for a series of department heads and supervisors in what they said was an effort to retain...
7th man pleads guilty for role in New Kensington man’s shooting death
A Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Thursday for his role in the events that led to the July 2022 shooting death of a man outside a New Kensington apartment building. Raquan Carpenter, 20, was among the seven men and teens charged with criminal homicide in connection with...
Westmoreland County register of wills, judges clash over filing delays during contempt of court hearing
Parents of adopted children told two Westmoreland County judges that months-long delays in the processing of paperwork filed with the Register of Wills Office led to major life interruptions. “It’s been a disaster,” one parent said. Another testified, “Due to the negligence of the office, we had to self-pay for...
Westmoreland juvenile detention center on track for March reopening
Westmoreland County’s juvenile detention center is expected to reopen this month after being largely closed since June because of staffing shortages and operational problems, officials said Wednesday. The 16-bed facility that houses juvenile criminal offenders closed following a series of state inspections. Those findings prompted county leaders to shutter the...
