Briefs: Police seeking bank robber
A gunman made off with an undisclosed amount of cash after holding up a North Side bank on Thursday morning, Pittsburgh police said.
The robber walked into the ESB Bank branch on Rhine Street in Spring Hill shortly before 9:30 a.m. and demanded money from a teller. No injuries were reported.
Witnesses told police the gunman was wearing a shoulder-length, black wig with a ballcap and sunglasses. Anyone with information is asked to call the city robbery squad at (412) 323-7151.
KnoxvilleMan shot in abdomen in serious condition
A 23-year-old man was in serious condition after being shot in the abdomen shortly after 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of Zara Street and Grimes Avenue in Knoxville, city police Lt. Scott Schubert said.
The man arrived at UPMC South Side hospital a few minutes later in a vehicle that had its window shot out, Schubert said. Paramedics transferred the victim to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Oakland.
Detectives were interviewing witnesses in an attempt to learn what happened. Anyone with information is asked to call city homicide detectives at (412) 323-7161, Schubert said.
Mt. WashingtonDog's rescuer from fire hurt after fall off ladder
A Mt. Washington man suffered a shoulder injury Thursday when he fell off a ladder while rescuing a dog from the porch roof of a burning house, city firefighters said.
The fire in the kitchen of the home at 100 block of Amabell Street erupted about 7:40 p.m. when a woman fell asleep with something cooking on the stove, said John Pisano, acting fire battalion chief.
The woman was awakened by the barking dog and got out safely. The dog and a cat were trapped on the roof, Pisano said. The man rescued the dog, but the cat fled back inside when firefighters tried to grab it. The cat was found unharmed when the fire was extinguished, Pisano said.
Gunshots damage ball player's car
Pittsburgh Pirate Randall Simon has had trouble getting hits this season, but a gunman had no problem hitting his sport utility vehicle.
Simon, whose batting average is under .200, told police that he left the keys to the 2003 Lincoln Navigator with a ball boy who was supposed to have the vehicle cleaned while the team was out of town.
The ball boy told police he took the vehicle to his home on Fulton Street on the North Side and parked it. He later found at least five bullet holes in the vehicle, city police Sgt. Stephen Matakovich said. Simon reported the incident Monday when the Pirates returned to Pittsburgh.
Convicted felon faces weapons charge
A North Side man was indicted this week by a federal grand jury on a charge of possessing a firearm that he was prohibited from having as a convicted felon.
Vernon Russaw, also known as Melvin D. Russaw, of West Burgess Street, was charged with possessing the handgun on June 23.
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more that one year in prison, from possessing a handgun. If he is convicted, the law provides for 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
South SideOfficials to discuss road work project
City officials will update residents Wednesday on the planned widening of East Carson Street and the rehabilitation of the Hot Metal Bridge.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh will have an open house from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 5 Building on Hot Metal Street. The projects are slated to begin in late summer 2005.
About a mile of East Carson Street would be widened from two to five lanes in the South Side Works development area, between South 25th and South 33rd streets. The unused portion of the Hot Metal Bridge will be converted for pedestrians and bicyclists and will connect to the Eliza Furnace Trail.
Allegheny County Changes announced for Parkway work
There's been a slight change in lane closures scheduled for the Parkway West this weekend but the biggest part of the project will not be affected.
A PennDOT contractor had planned to impose temporary lane closures on the inbound lanes Sunday to inspect signs. It was canceled due to a number of other road projects scheduled for this week that also will cause lane closings and detours.
The outbound Fort Pitt Tunnel, as well as most of Green Tree Hill, will be closed from 11 o'clock tonight until 6 a.m. Monday for part of the Parkway West repaving project. The inbound lanes of Fort Duquesne Bridge also will be closed. The inbound lanes of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel on the Parkway East will be closed overnight today and Saturday.
North SewickleyMan faces charges in heroin death
A Sewickley man was ordered to stand trial in the death of a Sewickley teenager who overdosed on heroin in Crawford County.
Aaron Melodini, 21, supplied the heroin that led to the death of 16-year-old Zachary Hughes Sparks in July 2002 at his family's cottage at Conneaut Lake, authorities said.
Melodini was ordered to stand trial after a preliminary hearing this week. He is charged with third-degree murder, drug delivery resulting in death and related counts. It's the first time a charge of drug delivery resulting in death has been filed in Crawford County. The charge has been ruled unconstitutional in other counties. The case is expected to go to trial in January.
Region Butler CountyCouncilman seeks to set an example
Butler City Councilman Joe Bratkovich has proposed halving the salaries of the city's elected officials so that the council will be in a better position to ask city workers for concessions later this year to trim a budget deficit.
The mayor earns $20,000 a year, the treasurer $18,000, and all five council members make $5,000 a year. Bratkovich said the city will have a deficit of up to $210,000 by year's end. If the elected officials took the 50-percent pay cut, the city would save $31,500.
Councilman James Kraus agrees with Bratkovich. Mayor Leonard Pintell said he wouldn't support the plan. Councilman Charlie Savannah said that, even with council's example, he's not sure it would be possible to get city workers to agree to concessions.
Traffic accident kills area motorist
A Butler man was killed early Thursday in a one-car crash in Clay Township.
Philip J. O'Donnell, 41, was driving south on Route 308 near Kuzma Road around midnight when he went off the road and rode on the berm until he struck a utility pole, according to state police.
After striking the pole, the 1987 Dodge Ram truck he was driving became airborne near the intersection of Shawl Drive before landing in a field and rolling over several times. O'Donnell, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle.
Westmoreland CountyWoman accused of mail, wire fraud
A West Newton woman was indicted by a federal grand jury this week on charges of mail and wire fraud in assuming the identify of her deceased sister to receive $75,000 in pension funds from the United Mine Workers of America.
Anne Stevenson, 67, of Baughman Avenue, was charged with obtaining the funds from October 1994 until February by falsely claiming she was her deceased sister, Betty Jane Klus.
Klus, who was a widow of a mine worker and was eligible for the UMWA benefits during her lifetime, died on Aug. 19, 1994. The law provides for a possible maximum term on each of 11 counts of five years in prison and a $250,000.
Lawrence CountyPostal worker accused of theft
A Lawrence County man was indicted this week by a federal grand jury after being accused of stealing mail while working as a U.S. Postal Service employee.
Christopher Lee Smiley, 23, of Reynolds Avenue, New Castle, was named in the indictment charging him with stealing a greeting card from the mail that contained a $50 bill and 13 $5-prepaid phone cards.
The law provides for a possible sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Washington CountyCalifornia man dies in house fire
A man was found dead in a fire at his California home.
Farley Brett Hunt, 42, was pronounced dead by Washington County Coroner Tim Warco around 12:30 a.m. Thursday after a fire at Hunt's mobile home on Boulder Avenue. Hunt's body was discovered in a spare room in the back. He lived alone.
Fire departments from California, North and South Brownsville, Richeyville and Bentleyville, as well as Brownsville Ambulance Service and California police responded. The cause and manner of death are pending. State police fire marshals are investigating the fire.
Erie CountyJuror in trouble for trip to park
A juror who skipped out on a trial so he could go to an amusement park must report for 10 days of jury duty next month or be thrown in jail.
Erie County Judge William Cunningham imposed the unusual ultimatum on David Coulson, 20, after lecturing the man about his civic duty this week.
Coulson was picked Monday to serve on a jury for a civil case in Cunningham's courtroom. He told the judge after the two-week trial began Monday that he had planned a trip to Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, for Tuesday, Cunningham said.
Cunningham refused to excuse Coulson from the panel but wrote a letter so Coulson could try to get a refund for his trip. But Coulson took the trip anyway when the park wouldn't give him the refund.
Somerset CountyWind farm developer sues county officials
A wind farm developer filed a lawsuit against the Somerset County commissioners for denying the company's plans to build 30 turbines.
Kansas-based Stonycreek Windpower LLC claimed the commissioners ordinance restricting wind farms' location is unconstitutional.
The ordinance provides setbacks to protect residents from having windmills too close to their properties and decommissioning requirements to ensure that no abandoned wind turbines are left behind.
The $70-million plan has been on hold since the county zoning hearing board denied a variance in April 2003. A county judge upheld that decision two months ago.
Southwestern PennsylvaniaSecond audit set for local diocese
The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh will be the first diocese in the country to have a second on-site audit to determine if it is in compliance with national standards for child sex abuse prevention policies.
The diocese was commended specifically by the auditors in October for compliance with diocesan leadership, public outreach, administrative and personnel policies, procedures and implementation of guidelines adopted by the U.S. bishops in 2002.
The bishops approved a second round of on-site audits during a national meeting in June. The audit in the Pittsburgh diocese will take place next week.
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