Wednesday, May 8, 2013
The latest from the office of Magisterial District Judge Robert Wyda.
Magisterial District Judge Robert Wyda heard two Upper St. Clair DUI cases this week. In the first case, Ian Vaughn Hambelton, 34, of Upper St. Clair, waived his DUI-related charges to court. Upper St. Clair police stated in the criminal complaint that Hembelton was pulled over at Berkshire and Maryland drives after an officer spotted him driving with the vehicle's high beams on and running a stop sign at the intersection of Hastings Mill and Old Washington roads. Police arrested Hambelton shortly after 3 a.m. on March 23. According to court documents, Hambelton's blood alchohol content measured at .152 percent, nearly twice Pennsylvania's legal limit of .08 percent. Patrick Ray Miller, 27, of Washington, PA, is also facing DUI charges. …
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
The latest from the office of Magisterial District Judge Robert Wyda.
A Mt. Lebanon woman is facing charges in both Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park following an alleged stealing spree. Upper St. Clair police charged Lisa Anne Chambers, 52, with one count of retail theft for allegedly stealing nearly $250 worth of items from CVS. Bethel Park police charged Chambers with two more counts of retail theft for allegedly stealing more than $700 of goods from Kohl's and more than $250 of cat items from PetCo on the same day. Bethel Park police arrested Chambers after receiving a call about the alleged theft from Kohl's. She tried to run from the scene, according to the criminal complaint filed by Bethel Park police, but was arrested near a transit stop behind L.A. Fitness. Chambers waived her right to a preliminary …
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
The latest from the office of magisterial district Judge Robert Wyda.
Upper St. Clair police recently arrested a Bethel Park man for DUI in the CVS parking lot. Alan Simon Conners waived his right to a preliminary hearing Monday. Police stated that they pulled Conners over in the CVS parking lot after receiving a call from Washington County 911 about a man who fled north on Route 19 from Peters Township after getting into a physical fight, according to the criminal complaint filed with district Judge Robert Wyda's office. Guilty Plea William R. Zapf, Jr., of Carnegie, pled guilty to a summary retail theft charge after stealing a pair of pliers from Sears. Waived Katelyn Webster, of Venetia, waived her right to a preliminary hearing. She's charged with lying about getting raped in the South Park Wave Pool …
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
The victim spent four days in jail and nine months on house arrest.
A Venetia teenager waived her right to a preliminary hearing in district Judge Robert Wyda's courtroom Monday on charges she lied about being raped in the South Park Wave Pool parking lot. The formal arraignment for Katelyn Webster, 18, is scheduled for June 10. Allegheny County police say Webster testified that she was raped by Matthew Folino so that she wouldn't get in trouble with her father about having "sucker bites," better known as hickies. Folino spent four days in jail and nine months on house arrest before police say Webster admitted to lying to them about the rape. Webster faces one count of perjury, one count of false reports to law enforcement authorities and one count of false swearing. Wyda is the magisterial district judge …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
The latest from the office of Magisterial District Judge Robert Wyda.
An Upper St. Clair man was held for court Monday on DUI charges. Robert Mihail Petrescu, 24, is accused of being drunk when he crashed his vehicle into another on Dec. 11, 2012. The crash occurred at the corner of McMillan and Orr roads. Each vehicle sustained heavy front-end damage. The following are three Sears theft cases heard by district Judge Robert Wyda on Monday. All cases were continued.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
The suspect is facing one count of perjury.
An 18-year-old woman is charged with perjury after police say she lied about being raped while under oath. According to a criminal complaint filed by the Allegheny County police in district Judge Robert Wyda's courtroom, Katelyn Webster, of Venetia, went to the Washington Hospital in June 2012 and reported she was raped by Matthew Folino while sitting in the South Park Wave Pool parking lot. Webster told police Folino placed his hands around her neck and held her down in his vehicle, according to the complaint. Police stated Webster had "noticeable marks on her neck and back." Folino was held for court after Webster testified against him at his preliminary hearing in August 2012, according to Wyda. As Folino's trial approached this year, …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Jason Hoffman was arrested while sitting in the Allegheny County Jail.
Pittsburgh Police arrested Jason Hoffman, 33, of Mt. Washington, on Monday as he sat in the Allegheny County Jail because of a burglary charge he faces in Upper St. Clair. Pittsburgh police charged Hoffman with six burglaries in Mt. Washington. Upper St. Clair police arrested Hoffman for burglary on Feb. 27. Inside Hoffman's vehicle, Upper St. Clair police found numerous items they believed to be stolen outside of Upper St. Clair, including a Giant Eagle Advantage Card and a Duquesne University class ring, according to a Pittsburgh police press release. Pittsburgh police stated that the alleged burglaries in Mt. Washington occurred between October and December 2012 during daylight hours while the residents were away from hom. Hoffman is …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
The latest from the office of Magisterial District Judge Robert Wyda.
The preliminary hearing for an Upper St. Clair man charged with DUI was continued for a second time on Monday. Upper St. Clair police charged Robert Mihail Petrescu, 24, with DUI after he crashed his vehicle on December 11, 2012. According to the criminal complaint, the vehicle Petrescu was driving crashed head-on into another vehicle at the corner of McMillan and Orr roads. Petrescu and a female passenger in his vehicle were transported to St. Clair Hospital, where blood samples were taken from Petrescu. The woman driving the other vehicle that was stopped at a stop sign told police she would have her husband bring her to the hospital later, according to the complaint. Each vehicle sustained "heavy front-end damage," according to the …
Sunday, March 10, 2013
District Judge Robert Wyda says he's at a point in his life and career that he's ready for the position.
Robert Wyda, the magisterial district judge for Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park, is running for Pennsylvania Superior Court. "I'm at a point in my life and career that this is a challenge and step I'm ready to make," Wyda said. "After all of my experience, I feel very comfortable and confident in my ability." Wyda has been a lawyer for 28 years and he's been the magisterial district judge for 14 years. His district of Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park is one of the most populous magisterial districts in Pennsylvania with 53,000 residents. Wyda, a Republican, said he has received a lot of positive encouragement about his candidacy. One of the qualities that make Wyda stand out is his service to the country. "Voters have reacted very …
Friday, March 8, 2013
Law firms buy the credit card debt and file civil lawsuits.
Upper St. Clair, an affluent Pittsburgh suburb, is not immune to credit card debt. Magisterial District Judge Robert Wyda said he hears up to 10 credit card debt cases a week. He estimates half the people being sued are from Upper St. Clair, even though the township has a smaller population than the other municipality in his jurisdiction—Bethel Park. The plaintiffs are commonly law firms from Philadelphia or New Jersey. "For me the issue is that the plaintiffs usually don't have the evidence to proceed," Wyda said. However, the defendants often don't contest the delinquent debt and will enter into a voluntary agreement to pay off the debt. The best way to avoid the problem is—of course—don't run up your credit card debt. "Civil judgment on…
John Jahigglewitz
12:37 am on Friday, May 3, 2013
Those cat ladies are crazy. I agree that that she needs help or to start having dogs as pets. Dog owners aren't as strange as cat owners,,,,just saying.... more ›