April 13, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
(UPDATED with additional information from arrest warrant and indictment.)
Two local men have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges they tampered with railroad signals.
The indictment, unsealed Wednesday, accuses William C. Brown, 24, of Elizabeth and Brandon E. Peck, 24, of Glassport of damaging railroad signals and equipment, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said in a prepared release.
According to the indictment, federal prosecutors claim that Brown cut cables on railroad signal antennas on a CSX equipment shack on Nov. 1. Prosecutors further claim that Brown and Peck returned the following day to remove the antennas.
Federal officials did not say where the incident occurred, but that it happened on a CSX Railroad line that is also used by Amtrak, within Allegheny County.
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April 11, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News
McKeesport and Allegheny County police are investigating a shooting Wednesday night that sent a 38-year-old man to the hospital.
A spokeswoman for Allegheny County police said that city police and paramedics were dispatched at 9:30 p.m. to the 2900 block of Palmgreen Street after callers reported that someone had been shot. The victim was wounded in the stomach, police said, and taken to a trauma center for treatment.
No details on his condition were available Wednesday night.
Homicide detectives were investigating, the spokeswoman said.
April 10, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A city man has pleaded guilty to charges that his school bus company employed drivers without conducting required criminal background checks --- and in one case, hired a driver who didn't even have a license.
Martin W. Betchy, 36, of Haler Heights pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of insurance fraud, theft by deception and endangering the welfare of children, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a prepared release.
Sentencing for Betchy has been scheduled for June 28 before Allegheny County Judge Ed Borkowski, Shapiro said. Court records indicate that Betchy is currently free in lieu of $15,000 bond.
Betchy was the owner of Three Rivers Transit LLC, which beginning in 2012 had a contract to transport children to and from Propel Schools.
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April 06, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News
Police are continuing their investigation of an accident involving a patrol car and a pedestrian near the bus station on Lysle Boulevard.
The victim, a 64-year-old woman from Versailles, is recovering in an area hospital and was in good condition on Thursday, McKeesport police Chief Bryan Washowich said.
She was crossing Lysle Boulevard between Sinclair and Sheridan streets just before 9 p.m. Monday night when she was struck by a city police car.
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April 06, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A motorist from Port Vue escaped with only minor injuries following a wild crash Thursday night in McKeesport's 10th Ward that sheared off two utility poles and left a major road closed until this morning.
McKeesport police Chief Bryan Washowich said the cause of the accident is under investigation, but that speed was likely a factor.
The 34-year-old male driver was on West Fifth Avenue heading toward the Mansfield Bridge just before 8:27 p.m. when his Toyota sedan went out of control.
The vehicle struck a parked car in the 500 block, then collided with a house and a telephone pole before rolling over several times and striking another utility pole, Washowich said.
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April 03, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News, White Oak News
A federal jury in Pittsburgh deliberated for only 20 minutes before convicting an East Liberty man in the robberies of two Mon-Yough banks.
Leonard W. Gibbons, 56, faces up to 22 years in prison and a half-million dollar fine after being convicted of breaking federal robbery and firearms laws, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said today in a prepared release. Sentencing before Senior U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose was scheduled for July 30.
Prosecutors allege that on July 17, 2015, Gibbons stole nearly $8,000 from Compass Federal Savings Bank in Wilmerding. About four months later, on Nov. 19, 2015, Gibbons stole nearly $4,000 from First Commonwealth Bank in White Oak, prosecutors said.
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March 29, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News, McKeesport and Region News
A fire on top of a kitchen stove forced the evacuation Wednesday night of the Midtown Plaza Apartments.
All 131 apartments in the building had to be evacuated and all off-duty McKeesport firefighters were called to the scene, along with volunteers from Glassport and Duquesne Annex.
McKeesport deputy fire Chief Tom Perciavalle said crews were finishing up at a call in the 500 block of Walnut Street just after 10 p.m. when they were dispatched to the senior-citizen high rise.
Firefighters forced entry to a locked second-floor apartment and found it filled with thick, black smoke, Perciavalle said. The residents were not home at the time of the fire.
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March 28, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A McKeesport woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh and charged with Social Security fraud.
Federal prosecutors today accused Kristin Hope Lucas, 44, of receiving $19,289 in supplemental security income benefits to which she was not entitled, said U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady in a prepared statement.
The benefits were paid out between November 2012 and October 2014, Brady said.
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March 28, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, Duquesne News
A Duquesne man has been indicted by a federal grand jury after prosecutors said he was caught with quantities of heroin and so-called "designer drugs" related to the tranquilizer fentanyl.
Marquis Brown, 29, also is charged with violating federal firearms laws, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said in a prepared release.
Brown is currently being held in Allegheny County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bond after being arrested Monday by Duquesne police on charges of possession of controlled substances with intent to deliver, tampering with evidence and resisting arrest.
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March 21, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News, McKeesport and Region News, White Oak News
McKeesport Area School District will hold a lockdown drill for all of its buildings on Tuesday morning to practice security protocols in the event of an emergency.
Parents are being encouraged to talk to their children before the event to avoid kids being alarmed or panicked, said Mark Holtzman Jr., district superintendent.
The drill was prompted in part by the Feb. 14 shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., in which 17 people were killed and another 17 wounded, but McKeesport Area officials have "always been concerned about school security," Holtzman said.
Any parent who wants information about the lockdown drill is being asked to call Holtzman's office at (412) 664-3600 or email mholtzman@mckasd.net.
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