Tony LaRussa stories, Page 17

Two accused heroin dealers targeted in separate sting operations by Harrison police and state narcotics agents are scheduled to appear before a district judge this week to face felony drug charges. Last February, an undercover team of Harrison police officers and agents from the state Attorney General’s Office arranged to...

A Mustang and a Maserati along with $15,000 worth of drugs, body armor and nearly $36,000 in cash were seized during a raid Monday at a Lower Burrell auto repair shop and a home in Plum, according to authorities. A team of agents and police officers from New Kensington and...

A South Greensburg man was arrested on charges that he assaulted an emergency room nurse at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison. James Gregory Wilbur, 55, of the 1100 block of Spruce Street faces a felony count of aggravated assault along with simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment, according to court...

Like most young people who aspire to a career as a performer, Loren Prisuta of Pine has been dreaming big about her future. But she hasn’t been leaving those dreams to chance. Now, with nearly a decade of hard work under her belt training in voice, dance and acting, the...

Arnold police arrested a Pittsburgh man after a woman told them he beat and strangled her during an argument. Naron Shamal Davis, 31, of Kenwood Avenue in the Perry South neighborhood faces a felony count of strangulation along with a count of simple assault. Davis was being detained in the...

A Harrison man faces nearly two dozen felony child pornography charges after, investigators said, numerous photographs and videos were found in his possession showing children as young as 7 engaged in sexual activity. Matthew J. Morrow, 25, of the 1000 block of Carlisle Street was charged by an agent with...

Harmar police accused a convicted felon who is not allowed to possess a gun with pulling a stolen pistol on a couple who were arguing outside their motel room at 2 a.m. Police said the gun had been altered to fire like a machine gun. Vincent Johnson III, 22, of...

New Kensington police arrested a man on a felony charge after an officer said he found him sleeping in a running car with a loaded pistol on the seat. Jermaine Landell Jett, 23, of Harrison was charged with a felony count of carrying a firearm without a license along with...

North Allegheny is among a dozen school districts in Pennsylvania that hiked property taxes during years when they had enough cash on hand to cover their expenses, according to audits released by state Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor. “These districts represent a cross-section of Pennsylvania – from wealthier to poorer...

Investigators accused a Pine man of attacking a woman with an axe after security video showed him carrying the weapon down the steps following the alleged incident. Lee Micheal Swat, 53, of Village Run Road, was charged by Northern Regional Police with a felony count of aggravated assault along with...

Authorities in Butler County said a district judge who struck a teen crossing Route 228 near Mars Middle School on Nov. 30 has been cleared of wrongdoing. Saxonburg District Judge Sue Haggerty was behind the wheel when a 13-year-old girl walked into the path of her vehicle about 5:30 p.m.,...

An Armstrong County magistrate sided with a former Kiski Township police sergeant who was sued by a resident he arrested while responding to a medical emergency at the resident’s township home in 2021. District Judge Kevin Lee McCausland on Jan. 25 issued his ruling on the Jan. 23 hearing for...

The driver of a car that was targeted in an undercover operation that led to the arrest of a suspected crack dealer has been ordered to stand trial on felony drug charges. Investigators say Tasha Tierra Williams, 41, of the 200 block of 15th Street in Arnold was behind the...

An Allegheny Township man was ordered to stand trial for allegedly strangling a woman. Robert Lee Stewart, 52, of the 1200 block of Hancock Avenue, was charged with a felony count of strangulation along with counts of simple assault and harassment. Allegheny Township police wrote in a criminal complaint charging...

A New Kensington man was arrested after a woman from Ohio told police the man stole her cellphone and kept her captive in his basement for several hours when she visited him after meeting on Facebook. Steven Daniel Best Jr., 39, of the 200 block of Fifth Avenue was charged...

An Allegheny Township man was accused of spanking a 5-year-old so hard that it left a handprint on the child’s back and buttocks. Benjamin Paul Eshenbaugh, 35, of Kepple Road was charged Tuesday, Jan. 17, with felony counts of aggravated assault of a child under age 6 and endangering the...

New Kensington police arrested a man on felony drug charges after staff at a local motel reported that he refused to leave and was following a woman around the parking lot. When officers arrived at the Quality Inn off Tarentum Bridge Road about 6:45 a.m. Jan. 1, they found Melvin...

Lower Burrell police accused a man of punching a woman during an argument over a dog and then hitting her in the head and face with a baseball bat multiple times when she tried to fight back. Matthew Anthony Betts Sr., 56, of the 2700 block of Lori Drive was...

A New Kensington man was charged with a felony after a woman told police that he tried to stop her from leaving his house during an argument and covered her mouth and nose until she couldn’t breathe when she screamed for help. Andrew Paul Ziencik, 39, of the 700 block...

Four people arrested by a team of agents who raided a home in New Kensington in late December have been ordered to stand trial on drug charges. Tammy Alane Hess, 53; Paul Scott Scratchard, 55; and Didiel Tirado, 57, all of the 2500 block of Seventh Street in New Kensington;...

Detectives with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office have charged a McKeesport man with home improvement fraud after investigating complaints from residents in Hampton and Bethel Park. John Fritzius III, 54, of the 500 block of Lincoln Way was charged with felony and misdemeanor counts of theft by deception, deceptive...

A contractor from Butler County faces felony charges after a Richland man told police that he paid more than $6,000 up front for fence work but couldn’t get a refund after being told he would have to wait at least four months for the project to start. Austin Jay Reges,...

A Fawn man who was arrested in 2019 was sentenced to 10 to 30 years in prison after being found guilty of repeatedly sexually assaulting two young children. Douglas Charles Simoncic Jr., 32, of Iron Bridge Lane was found guilty Oct. 11 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court of two...

Ross Township officials broke with the long-standing tradition of promoting their most senior police officer to chief when an opening comes up. With help from a consultant who developed a plan to restructure the police department, the township announced during a news conference Jan. 17 that it has hired its...

A man missing since Saturday who was believed to be in danger has been found safe, according to Kiski Township police. Police were searching for Jeff Manchini, who went missing from his home in the West-In-Arms apartments at 403 20th St. in North Apollo. Authorities were concerned because Manchini has...