A man who sneaks into open bedroom windows and sexually assaults women has struck for the third time in eight days, Pittsburgh police said.
The man attacked a woman early Saturday at an apartment on Sphar Street in Shadyside. He assaulted a woman at a residence on Fifth Avenue in Shadyside on July 19 and another woman in a home in Hazelwood on July 20.
In each case, the man climbed through open windows while the women were alone and sleeping.
Police describe the suspect as a thin black man in his 20s, between 5-feet-7 and 6 feet tall, with braided hair and wearing a do-rag. Police are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
North Side400 homes, businesses lose power as cable fails
Nearly 400 residences and businesses on the North Side were left without power for eight hours Wednesday because of an underground cable failure, Duquesne Light Co. spokesman Joseph Vallarian said.
Traffic signals between Pressley Street and Cedar Avenue became inoperative and crews were forced to shut down the HOV lanes during the morning rush hour. Service to the HOV lanes was restored around noon.
Full service to the affected customers -- including residents of a senior citizen high rise and a grocery store -- was restored about 3 p.m., Vallarian said.
HomewoodPolice dog sniffs out fugitive in closet
A Pittsburgh man who violated terms of his parole by cutting off his electronic monitoring bracelet and failing to report to his parole officer was arrested Wednesday by members of the Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force.
Kevin Venson, 36, was arrested after task force members surrounded a home on Mt. Vernon Street in Homewood, said Michael Baughman, a task force member and supervisor deputy U.S. Marshal.
When Venson refused to come out, the home was evacuated and an Allegheny County Sheriff's Department police dog was sent in to find him. The dog found Venson hiding in a bedroom closet, and he was taken into custody without incident, Baughman said.
Penn HillsVerona man charged in shooting death
A Verona man has been charged with criminal homicide in Tuesday's fatal shooting in Penn Hills.
Christopher Howell, 28, is charged with fatally shooting Daron L. Patterson, 26, of Uptown, near the intersection of Grandview Avenue and Johnston Road.
Another man, Tiwand Hill, is charged with aggravated assault and firearms violations for a scuffle that police believe occurred during a drug deal. Hill's age and address are not available.
Police said Patterson was shot outside the vehicle occupied by Howell and Hill. A bag of marijuana and a gun were found a short distance from where Patterson was shot.
White OakTask force arrests fugitive in Mass. shooting
A White Oak man wanted in connection with the shooting of a man during a robbery two years ago in Massachusetts was arrested Wednesday morning by members of the Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force.
Zachary Holtzman, 23, was arrested without incident moments after pulling out of his driveway along Dearborn Drive, said Michael Baughman, a task force member and supervisor deputy U.S. Marshal.
Holtzman is accused of stealing $300 from the victim during a 2004 robbery in Springfield, Baughman said. Holtzman is being held in the Allegheny County Jail pending extradition.
Erie County2 ex-students sentenced to 8-16 years in attack
Two former Edinboro University students will spend eight to 16 years in state prison for their role in a sexual assault on another male student.
Tyrell Ware, 20, and Marlon Gunn, 19, both of the Pittsburgh area, were sentenced in Erie County Court on charges including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse in the incident last April.
Earlier this year, Urlene Boisette, 25, of Philadelphia, admitted raping a male classmate with a sexual device and dumping a bucket of urine on him. She cooperated with authorities and will spend 11 to 23 months in the Erie County Prison. Ware and Gunn were charged with assisting in the attack.
Somerset CountyFirst free clinic opens for adults
Somerset County's first free medical clinic is open for business.
The Somerset Community Clinic is open from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays at the Somerset Commons medical complex in the county seat.
The project is run by Somerset Hospital and local community groups, who estimate about 8,000 people in the county would qualify for free care. The clinic is open to adults ages 18 to 64 who do not have medical insurance. It can help patients get free or discounted prescriptions.
LawrencevilleLine repair will disrupt water service
Many residents in Lawrenceville will be without water service between 9 p.m. today and 6 a.m. Friday so that a 20-inch water main line on Penn Avenue can be repaired, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority has announced.
Water buffaloes will be placed in the 300 block of 39th Street and the 3400 block of Penn Avenue for people to use during the service interruption.
Residents of 34th, 35th, 36th, 37th, 38th and 39th streets will be affected, as will surrounding areas of Penn Avenue and Butler Street and parts of Bandera Street, Leech Street, Ligonier Street and Sardis Way. Other areas may experience low water pressure.
Penn HillsEx-trooper sentenced in mortgage scheme
A former state policeman was placed on house arrest and ordered to pay nearly $220,000 in restitution Wednesday for his part in a mortgage-flipping scheme.
Thomas W. Henry, formerly of the state police barracks near Belle Vernon, Fayette County, was sentenced to three years' probation, including six months on house arrest, by U.S. District Judge Maurice B. Cohill.
Henry, 38, of Penn Hills, pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Organizers of the $1.7 million scheme bought dozens of properties in poor neighborhoods between 1998 and 2002, according to prosecutors. They used straw buyers to submit fraudulent bank loan applications at inflated prices with overstated incomes and assets of the buyers. Henry acted as a buyer in the scheme.
Baldwin BoroughWater main break closes Glass Run
Glass Run Road in Baldwin Borough was closed for most of the day Wednesday because of a water main break.
The break was reported at 5:22 a.m. and resulted in the closure between Joseph Street and Cathell Road, said Baldwin police Chief Christopher Kelly. He said it was unknown how many people were affected by the break since many residents were at work.
Crews worked throughout the day to make repairs, said Phil Cynar, spokesman for Pennsylvania American Water Co.
McKeesportRunaway needs medication, police say
McKeesport police are looking for a runaway who is in need of medication.
Sabrina A. Coker, 16, ran away June 29 and has been spotted in Homestead and some sections of Pittsburgh, police said.
Coker is black, 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and weighs 118 pounds. She has brown eyes and black hair. Police said she takes medication but wouldn't say why she needs it.
Butler CountyTheater Trust cancels fundraiser after arrest
The Penn Theater Trust canceled a cocktail party scheduled for Friday because of concerns over the arrest of the former president of the board of directors.
Donald J. Rasely, 56, of Butler Township, resigned his post as president of the board Monday night after he was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy.
Penn Theater Trust board members did not want the focus of the fundraiser to be on Rasely's personal problems, said acting president John C. Davey.
The group is raising money to help run the historic Penn Theater along Main Street in Butler. The cocktail party will be rescheduled in the fall. People who wish to have their money refunded should contact the theater office at 724-287-7366. The rest of the money will be held for the rescheduled party, Davey said.
Mon Valley
Elizabeth TownshipExecution warrant signed in child-support killing
Gov. Ed Rendell signed an execution warrant Wednesday for an Erie County man who prosecutors said set a fire that killed his 2-year-old daughter to avoid paying $250 in monthly child support.
The execution by lethal injection of Stephen E. Treiber, 37, is scheduled for Sept. 21. Jessica Treiber died of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning in March 2001 on the day she arrived to visit him at his home in Millcreek. Prosecutors said Treiber had been having financial problems.
Jessica lived in Elizabeth Township with her mother, Jodie Treiber. Stephen Treiber and Jodie Treiber were divorced after Jessica was born.
The only three people executed since the state reinstated the death penalty nearly three decades ago all voluntarily ended their appeals.
Fayette CountyWarrant issued for fugitive in standoff
State police have issued a warrant for a Fayette County man who staged a standoff Tuesday in Redstone after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend.
John Raymer Sicklesmith, 24, of Smithfield, threatened to harm himself with a 12-gauge shotgun when police surrounded the home on Second Street in the village of Allison 2, troopers said. The standoff lasted several hours, but Sicklesmith managed to escape.
His girlfriend, Melissa Beckman, 19, of Smithfield, was released unharmed from the home before the standoff began. She suffered minor injuries, police said.
Beaver CountyGirl, 7, hit by car, critically injured
A 7-year-old girl was flown Wednesday to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh after being struck by a car in Beaver County, emergency personnel said.
The girl, whose identity was not revealed, was in critical condition, said John Chamberlin, of STAT MedEvac, which flew her to Pittsburgh.
The crash occurred shortly before 7 p.m. near the intersection of Patterson and Green Garden roads.
