Saturday, May 25, 2013
The suspect's preliminary hearing in front of district Judge Robert Wyda was continued Monday.
Upper St. Clair police suspect a Bethel Park man was huffing "industrial strength aerosol duste"r before he crashed into a tree at the corner of McMurray and Southridge roads on April 4. Brian Keith Pfender, Jr., 20, of Bethel Park, is charged with one count of driving under the influence, one count of careless driving and one count of not wearing his seat belt. Police stated in the criminal complaint filed with district Judge Robert Wyda's office that Pfender suffered head and facial injuries after making contact with the windshied. His vehicle sustained severe front-end damage, according to the complaint. Police stated they suspect the aerodol duster was purchased 42 minutes before the crash at Wal-Mart. His preliminary hearing was …
Friday, May 24, 2013
Upper St. Clair police accuse the woman of colliding with two vehicles.
The preliminary hearing for a Mt. Lebanon woman accused of hitting two vehicles in the Trader Joe's parking lot and taking off was continued on Monday. Jennifer Lynne Santiago, 41, is charged with one count of accident involving damage to attended vehicle and failing to remain at scene; one count of accident involving damage to unattended vehicle; one count careless driving and one count meeting vehicle proceeding in opposite direction. Santiago is accused of backing her vehicle into a SUV, and then driving into the front corner of another vehicle in the parking lot on April 10 after dropping off a Trader Joe's employee. According to the police, Santiago did not stop to check the damage, but took off. After an Upper St. Clair police …
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The man is OK and is now charged with drug possession.
A St. Clair Country Club employee who was found unconscious and not breathing in a men's restroom last month was held for court on two charges, including possession of heroin. Steven R. McNally, 27, of Carrick, was suspected of overdosing on heroin in the bathroom and was rushed to St. Clair Hospital on April 6, according to the criminal complaint filed in magisterial district Judge Robert Wyda's office. McNally's formal arraignment is scheduled for July 10. Judge Wyda also heard the following cases on Monday: Join Patch for more community news or join us on Facebook and Twitter.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Frank Zahler is accused of telling a man in Barnes & Noble that he had bomb materials in his briefcase similar to the bombs used in the Boston Marathon.
The elderly man accused of causing the evacuation of South Hills Village mall last month was in tears apologizing to the judge and thanking the Bethel Park police for treating him well at the end of his preliminary hearing on Monday. District Judge Robert Wyda continued the hearing for Frank Zahler until July 1 so that behavioral health specialists could help Zahler discover the underlying cause of why he made the "callous and stupid" remarks on April 21, just days after the Boston Marathon tragedy. "What you said was clearly wrong," Wyda told Zahler. "We need to get things mentally and emotionally under control. "You need to continue to work with these people (health specialists) to help you help yourself." Zahler was handcuffed in the …
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, …
John Lappe
8:24 am on Saturday, May 25, 2013
I do believe in 2nd chances, I do not condone leaving the scene of an accident, for any reason, and as fart as insurance goes, if there had been no witnesses and she had not been caught, the owners of the cars she hit would have been out of pocket for their loss, especially if they don't carry collision insurance. Driving is a privilage, no one should operate a motor vehicle while impaired, … more ›