07-09-2008
Another saturation patrol in the city of New Castle. State and city police conducted that crackdown late Monday night. Officials say they serve four felony warrants for robbery, burglary, forgery and endangering the welfare of a child. A domestic relations warrant was served as well. Seven traffic citations were issued.
Police have charged a Butler man with threatening to kill two employees at Butler Memorial Hospital. 57 year old Robert Fratto allegedly made those threats late last week. Reports did not say why Fratto was angry but his bond was set at 15-thousand dollars. The charges against him include terroristic threats, harassment and disorderly conduct.
State police in Mercer County say a 41 year old man is accused of raping a young girl over a three month period in 2002. Jack Richard Pennington of Orr Road in Mercer was arraigned and placed in the Mercer County Jail. The charges against him include rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault. Police say the victim was only eleven years old when the attacks began.
A 23 year old Mercer man is being charged with public drunkenness...this after he ended up at the bottom of a one hundred foot ravine in Butler County and had to be rescued. Zachary Cameron was rescued around two o'clock Sunday morning. Police did not say how he ended up in that ravine although his injuried were said to be minor. The incident took place in Butler Township.
Not a lot of information has been released but U-S Marshals were in the Farrell and Sharon areas looking for a fugitive. Authorities were going from building to building in the Willow Village apartment complex. The search lasted for about three hours before investigators determined the suspect wasn't there. Officials say more information will be released once the man is captured.
A popular Internet prank has made its way to a local fast food restaurant. Police say a 16 year old boy went through the drive-thru at the Taco Bell in Pine Township. He ordered a drink, yelled "fire in the hole" and threw the drink on the Grove City woman working the window. The teenager then drove off. Police say harassment charges are a possibility. The prank has gotten a lot of attention lately. It was even featured on a segment of NBC's Today show.
The beach area at Brady's Run Park in Beaver County could open as early as today. The beach was closed last week after officials detected high levels of E-coli. Park officials say the beach was roped off not long after the tests were conducted on July 2nd. Another water test was expected to be conducted yesterday but it usually takes about 24 hours for the results to come back.
Charges are being filed against a 24 year old Beaver Falls man accused of leading police on a high speed chase. Leo Clements the Third was clocked riding his motorcycle at 109 miles per hour in a 55 zone. Police chased him through several municipalities, including Conway were police estimated the chase reached speeds of 140 miles per hour. Clements was caught after police created a road block that shut down all northbound traffic on Route 65.
Rochester would like to get a loan to help settle up the borough's deficit. On Monday, Rochester Council voted seven - zero to authorize the borough solicitor to petition the court in Beaver County to take out a bank loan of seven-hundred-thousand-dollars. Rochester would have to submit a payment proposal and if all would go as planned repay just over eight-thousand of the debt per month over ten-years.
A traffic note for motorists in Mercer County...as two bridges are closed for work and are not scheduled to reopen until October. The bridges are on McCartney Road in Fairview Township and Clay Furnace Road in Jefferson Township are both closed to all traffic. The projects are costing a combined 500-thousand dollars.
