Renatta Signorini stories, Page 131
5 Westmoreland inmates charged with assault, conspiracy in jailhouse fight
Five inmates at the Westmoreland County Prison are facing assault and conspiracy charges in connection with a December fight in which a sixth inmate was injured, according to court papers. The suspects are accused playing various roles in attacking a 21-year-old man in a cell, county detectives said. Charged are:...
Police: Hempfield man punched driver for causing dog, Taco Bell food to fall
A Hempfield man is accused by state police of punching another motorist after his Taco Bell order fell to the floor when he had to stop suddenly outside the restaurant, according to court papers. Michael A. Matrone, 62, was charged Monday with strangulation, simple assault and harassment. Troopers were called...
New Kensington man acquitted in child sex assault case
A New Kensington man was acquitted Thursday by a Westmoreland County jury of allegations that he sexually assaulted a girl. Jurors deliberated for an hour before finding Joshua John Holtman, 34, not guilty of aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault at the end of a two-day trial. Holtman had been...
Police: Derry Township man was drunk in crash that seriously injured passenger
State police say a Derry Township man was drunk during a November crash in Unity that seriously injured his female passenger. Robert Scott Mayer, 55, didn’t have a valid driver’s license at the time, troopers said. He was arrested Thursday on charges of aggravated assault while driving under the influence,...
Ligonier Township physician indicted in alleged drug conspiracy
A Ligonier Township physician acquitted in July of child molestation charges was arraigned in federal court Thursday on allegations he unlawfully distributed two weight-loss drugs, according to court papers. Psychologist Dr. Roy C. Monsour, 65, appeared in federal court in Pittsburgh Thursday afternoon for an arraignment on a charge of...
Firefighters help stranded motorists on private property near Adamsburg
Adamsburg firefighters helped six people late Thursday after two vehicles apparently got stuck on private property in Hempfield. Adamsburg Fire Chief Don Thoma said firefighters were dispatched to the property near Monkey Wrench and Edna roads around 9:30 p.m. They used a UTV and an ATV to reach the people....
Mt. Pleasant Township man sentenced to probation in funeral donation theft
A Mt. Pleasant Township man was sentenced to two years of probation Thursday for taking $1,530 in donations meant for funeral expenses for his late girlfriend. Shawn M. Smartnick, 34, pleaded guilty to a theft count and was ordered to pay restitution. “I am guilty, I didn’t pay it back,”...
Suspect in Greensburg convenience store robbery apprehended
A Greensburg man accused of a convenience store robbery was arrested Wednesday, according to police. Tywone McClain Jr., 21, was arrested in Duquesne in connection with the robbery at Sheetz on Harvey Avenue, said Greensburg Police Detective Sgt. John Swank. McClain was arraigned Wednesday afternoon and lodged in the Westmoreland...
Local officials say paying for state police would be tough pill to swallow
Gov. Tom Wolf wants to charge Pennsylvania communities a fee for state police coverage, regardless of whether the municipality has its own police force, according to his 2020-21 state budget proposal. Under the proposal, Hempfield and Unity townships would pay $76 per resident, according to state data. Neither township has...
Jeannette company sues Patriot Shield, landlord over hemp odor
A Jeannette packaging company is seeking thousands of dollars in damages after its items were contaminated while being stored in the same warehouse as a hemp drying facility, according to a lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County court. FC Meyer Packaging claims odor from the hemp facility permeated its storage space...
Shaler man sentenced to federal prison in child porn case
A Shaler man was sentenced to more than five years in a federal penitentiary in connection with child pornography images and videos found on three of his devices. Brian R. Reddinger, 37, was ordered Tuesday to spend five years on supervised release after the 63-month prison term, according to federal...
Police: 1-year-old was in Rostraver motel room when mother overdosed
A Monongahela woman is accused of child endangerment after police said she overdosed in a Rostraver motel with her 1-year-old son in the room. Emily Ann Stout, 24, was found unresponsive at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at the Relax Inn on Finley Road, according to court papers. Township police said Stout’s...
Police: Pittsburgh woman transferred drugs during kiss with state prison inmate
State police accused a Pittsburgh woman of transferring drugs during a kiss with a prison inmate in Somerset County. Jasmine Lanell Livingston, 21, was visiting her boyfriend Anthony Jackson, 26, also of Pittsburgh, on Jan. 23 at the state prison in Somerset Township, according to troopers. Police said the pair...
Police: Online scammer bilked Loyalhanna woman out of $45K
It started with some messages exchanged with a new Facebook connection. A 60-year-old Loyalhanna Township woman believed she was talking to a man in Denmark. He told her he needed some money to help his daughter, who supposedly was attending a private school in West Africa, according to state police....
Tickets available soon for country-pop act Lady AntebellumVideo
Tickets will go on sale Friday for country-pop trio Lady Antebellum’s performance at S&T Bank Music Park near Burgettstown this summer. Musicians and songwriters Dave Haywood, Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley will make a stop there on July 17 as part of their Ocean 2020 tour. Tickets go on sale...
State police, Seton Hill University students continue search for missing Unity woman
State police on Friday searched wooded areas in Unity, continuing a quest to find a woman who has been missing for nearly two years. Kathe Gross, mother of Cassandra Gross, said searchers were focusing during the morning on an area where her daughter’s dog, Baxter, was found. “I believe they’re...
Jeannette grows its art scene, with more to come
Jill Urbani Sorrels has a vivid recollection of something her father said years ago about Jeannette’s future. It would take an entire generation for the city to bounce back from a decline, Urbani Sorrels remembers him saying. “ ‘It will come back through the eyes of the artists,’ ” she...
Donora man killed in crash
A Donora man was killed Thursday night in a one-vehicle crash near the Donora-Monessen Bridge, according to the Washington County coroner. Derrick A. Dow, 41, lost control of the vehicle he was driving at the intersection of Route 837 and Donora Road at 8 p.m., Coroner Tim Warco said. Dow’s...
AHN Hempfield hospital set for opening, cancer center begins treatmentsVideo
AHN Hempfield — Neigborhood Hospital is set to open Monday after months of delays related to the state’s licensing process. The hospital at Route 30 and Agnew Road in Hempfield will start accepting patients at 8 a.m. Construction of the $30 million micro-hospital wrapped up in the fall and Allegheny...
Ohio man indicted in Robinson armed bank robbery
An Ohio man was indicted this week in connection with a bank robbery in Robinson, according to federal prosecutors. Montague Howard, 40, is accused of pointing what appeared to be a gun at a First Commonwealth Bank teller on Jan. 15, authorities said. He got away from the Park Manor...
Westmoreland told to release ‘daily entry and exit time records’ for Register of Wills
Westmoreland County was ordered this week to release “electronic swipe card daily entry and exit time records” for Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton under a decision by the state Office of Open Records. The decision reversed the county’s Dec. 20 denial of a request under the state’s Right-to-Know Law...
Westmoreland Intermediate Unit seeks donations for backpacks for homeless children
The Westmoreland Intermediate Unit is seeking donations to fill 1,000 backpacks for homeless children in Westmoreland County and across the state. The backpacks will be assembled during the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units statewide conference to be held locally in May. The Westmoreland unit is hosting the conference at Seven...
Charges filed in Unity man’s 2015 drug overdose death
A former area woman is accused of providing a fatal dose of fentanyl-laced heroin that killed a Unity man in 2015, according to court papers. Caitlin Nicole Brown, 27, was charged in October 2017 with drug delivery resulting in death and related offenses. She was extradited to Pennsylvania last week....
State police looking for Hempfield hit-and-run driver
State police are looking for the driver of a blue Honda car that was involved in a hit-and-run this month in Hempfield. The Honda rear-ended another vehicle at 4 p.m. Jan. 16 in the westbound lanes of Route 30 at Millersdale Road, according to troopers. The drivers discussed pulling into...
Police: Mt. Pleasant Township man out on bail in domestic case tries to kill accuser
A Mt. Pleasant Township man who was freed Saturday on domestic violence charges is accused of going to the woman’s home that day and trying to kill her, according to state police. Troopers said John Michael Pisula Jr., 30, held a rifle to the woman’s head and apparently pulled the...
