Two Mon Valley teenagers who killed a counselor at a juvenile detention center in Mercer County were each sentenced Thursday to life in prison.
Anthony Machicote, 18, of North Versailles, pleaded guilty in November to second-degree murder in the death of Wayne L. Urey in November 2003 at George Junior Republic. Jeremy Melvin, 17, of McKeesport, pleaded guilty in October.
They planned to run away from the private reform facility and wanted to steal Urey's truck. Urey, 43, of Jefferson Township, Mercer County, died of asphyxiation after the teens tied him up with a belt, stuffed socks in his mouth and tied a sheet around his head. District Attorney James Epstein said the teens can't be granted parole unless they petition the governor for a rarely granted special commutation.
Allegheny CountyGroup sponsors Summer Camp Expo
Shady Side Academy Parents' Association is sponsoring the 2005 Summer Camp Expo on Jan. 22 and 23.
The event is free and open to the general public. Representatives of more than 50 summer camps and enrichment programs for children ages 5 to 18 will have exhibits and answer questions.
The expo will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 22 at Currry Gym on the Shady Side Academy Senior School Campus, 423 Fox Chapel Road, Fox Chapel, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m Jan. 23 at Beth Shalom Congregation, 5915 Beacon St., Squirrel Hill.
City Northview HeightsMan found guilty of drug, firearm laws
A Northview Heights man was found guilty this week in federal court on three counts of violating federal drug and firearm laws. Ledarro Northcutt, 28, of Penfort Street, possessed crack cocaine and a .40 caliber pistol on Sept. 5, 2003, prosecutors said. Northcutt previously had been convicted of a felony and, according to federal law, is prohibited from possessing a firearm. The minimum sentence is five years in prison, and the maximum is 35 years in prison and a fine of $1.5 million, officials said. Sentencing has been scheduled for April 15.
DowntownJury to decide alleged accomplice's role
An Allegheny County jury should begin deciding today whether the accused accomplice in a robbery and shooting that paralyzed a Mt. Lebanon copier repairman should be held responsible for the assault.
Lamont Fulton, 19, of Crafton Heights, testified Thursday that he did not know his companion Marty Allen Armstrong, 20, of Springdale Borough, was going to rob or shoot Michael Lahoff, 52, in a Downtown parking garage on Jan. 3, 2003.
But Armstrong testified later in the day that Fulton was in on the holdup. While the jury is considering attempted homicide, aggravated assault, robbery and conspiracy charges against Fulton, Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning will decide on the guilt of Armstrong, who confessed to the shooting.
East BraddockRape suspect's DNA subject of assault probe
Allegheny County Police are checking for possible connections between the man accused of raping a Braddock woman and various unsolved sexual assaults.
Gus Lee Dagner, 53, of Braddock, who has a criminal record for property crimes but not of sexual assaults, is accused of breaking into a 71-year-old woman's house three times in November and December.
Police will run lab tests on evidence collected from unsolved cases to see if they can be linked through DNA samples, Allegheny County police Lt. Robert Downey said. He said Dagner does not match the physical characteristics of the East End rapist, who was responsible for six rapes at knifepoint starting in June 2000.
Region Somerset CountyJudge will decide fate of killer
A man pleaded guilty in a fatal love triangle shooting, but it will be up to a judge to decide his degree of culpability.
Robert Kevin Ohler, 33, pleaded guilty to a count of criminal homicide Wednesday for shooting Craig Alan Engle, 46, shortly after Thanksgiving 2003. Ohler was having an affair with Engle's live-in girlfriend, police said.
A county judge will decide whether Ohler is guilty of first-degree murder -- which carries life in prison -- or some lesser degree of killing. Other possibilities include third-degree murder, which carries up to 40 years in prison, or one of two types of manslaughter, which would bring no more than seven years in prison.
Bedford CountyMan faces trial in Christmas Day brawl
A Maryland man accused of trying to run his girlfriend over with his truck and later biting off the tip of a man's nose during a Christmas Day brawl was ordered to stand trial in the case.
Michael Anthony Wilson Jr., 40, of Bel Air, Md., was arrested on aggravated assault and other charges.
Wilson's girlfriend, April Brofka, 32, of Bedford, testified during a preliminary hearing this week that Wilson began hitting her as they were driving back from a bar in West Virginia. She said Wilson ordered her out of the truck and then put it in reverse, trying to hit her. Later, police said, Wilson went to a home that Brokfa's sister shared with her fiance, John Mowry. During a fight, authorities said, Wilson is accused of biting off the tip of Mowry's nose and trying to bite off his middle finger.
Jefferson CountyChamber offers contest for Groundhog Day
Punxsutawney Phil will have some stiff competition when he emerges from his hole for his annual weather forecast Feb. 2 -- two dozen wooden replicas of the world-famous rodent that will be decorating a local park.
The Punxsutawney Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the cutout competition. The wooden replicas of Phil are being painted and decorated as part of a fund-raising project.
Individuals and groups are invited to decorate the cutouts, and the prettiest one will win $50. The cutouts then will be sold through a silent auction during Groundhog Day Week with the proceeds going for future Groundhog Day festivities. Festivities for Punxsutawney's 119th annual Groundhog Day begin Jan. 28.
Western PennsylvaniaElm Street Program awards grants
Two Western Pennsylvania communities have been awarded $25,000 grants through the state Department of Community and Economic Development's New Communities-Elm Street Program.
Bradford in McKean County and Somerset in Somerset County are receiving money for planning efforts to revitalize areas outside of their downtown business districts, officials said.
The Elm Street Program was designed to improve residential neighborhoods that are the gateways to commercial corridors. Bradford will hire a consultant to help prepare a five-year strategy and determine which of two neighborhoods under consideration will be the target of the project. Somerset will research the feasibility of an Elm Street Program in three possible areas.
Fayette CountyProbation violator to wear anti-drug sign
A man who violated his probation for a drug offense was sentenced to act as a walking anti-drug billboard.
Juan Curtis McCargo, 29, of Uniontown, was sentenced this week to walk near area schools once a week for the next eight weeks with some sort of anti-drug message strapped to his body.
McCargo was sentenced to three years of probation in 2002 for having drugs with him during a traffic stop. He violated his probation and faced possible jail time for testing positive for marijuana and for failing to pay his fines and court costs. Instead, Fayette County Judge John Wagner decided to make McCargo a walking example of why drugs are a bad idea. The county's probation and drug and alcohol treatment officials will determine the messages.
Washington CountyMotorist facing trial in fatal accident
A Washington County motorist will stand trial on charges stemming from an accident that killed a teenage track star.
Armand James Pistilli Jr., 32, of Bentleyville, is charged with homicide by vehicle, reckless driving and related charges for the death of Alexandra Loos, 15, a freshman at Bentworth High School. Alexandra was walking along a Somerset Township roadway when the accident occurred Aug. 11.
State police think Pistilli was traveling at least 70 miles per hour when his vehicle struck the girl. The posted speed limit in that area is 40 miles per hour. Alexandra set a Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League record in the 1,600-meter run last year.
Blair CountyMurder victim's mother charged with fraud
The mother of a murder victim was charged with insurance fraud involving her dead daughter's insurance policies, police said.
Pamela Sunderland, 53, of Claysburg, a licensed insurance agent, sold six policies to her daughter, Tina S. Miller, in 2003, police said. Paul A. Ross, of Hollidaysburg, is awaiting trial after being accused of killing Miller in June. Sunderland, who was listed as beneficiary on four policies, is accused of changing the beneficiary of two other policies to herself after Miller's death, police said.
Sunderland also filed a $5,126 claim with the state's Crime Victim Compensation Fund for funeral expenses and is accused of telling officials that she wasn't the beneficiary of her daughter's insurance.
