WJPA News

A fight that broke out in August at the Forty Bar and Grille in North Franklin Township caused 8 men to face preliminary hearings for their roles in the incident and all will face trial. Top charges for all men were Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) charges along with riot with intent to commit a felony charges. The crux of the prosecution’s argument centered on the fact that all men charged are members of the War Dogs Motorcycle Club and the victim, Jordan Henderson is a member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club and that is what caused the fight. Testimony came from Julia Quarture, the bartender that was on duty when the fight broke out. She described how Kenneth Haymon entered the bar and spoke to Henderson instigating the fight. The bar’s owner Cheyenne Bennison testified to activity at the scene when she arrived after being called by her bartender. Police testimony centered on surveillance video from the bar. Detective and expert witness testimony was offered building a case for the RICO charges. In the end, the judge dismissed The RICO charges and held charges for riot with intent to cause a felony. Clark Young, Robert Conner, Kristoper Gardner, Jerry Barnett, Daniel Ullrick, Paul Prevost, Zachary Williams and Benjamin Bowman will face that charge. Barnett, Young, Conner and Gardener all face assorted other charges including aggravated assault. Two other men, Eric Hadrych and Corey Palmer waived their cases to court prior to the hearings. Not charged in the case is Kenneth Hayden. He was killed in a separate incident in Allegheny County in October. All will be arraigned next month.

Washington County Commissioner Chairman Nick Sherman took to social media to provide an update on progress of the Courthouse Square Building demolition. In a post to Facebook on Friday, Sherman said that currently contractors are conducting a wall shoring project that is stabilizing a wall between the Washington County Courthouse and the new Public Safety Building. Sherman says that once that project is complete, the timeline will be demolition in late March, site preparation in April and the construction on the new Public Safety Building will begin in May. The Public Safety Building will hold the new 9-1-1 operations center that will employ the new emergency radio system, offices for the Sheriff, and a booking center. The cost of the project is estimated to be between $30 and 35 million.

Washington County Commissioners and the Redevelopment Authority of Washington County have been grappling with an appointment to the LSA Review Committee. The Tri-County Borough Association decided to change their elected representative in March. The person elected to take that place was deemed ineligible to serve because they did not live in Washington County. In what commissioners describe as a bureaucratic mix up, The Tri-County Borough Association held a second election in October, to appoint Jim Plugh as the Association’s representative. Prior to that election, county officials appointed Bill Nutt to the committee because he finished second in the initial election. The Association made their displeasure known at the commissioner’s agenda meeting that they want Plugh to represent their interests. In an effort to compromise, Commissioner Larry Maggi suggested that both Nutt and Plugh serve on the committee for one year. After legal research and discussions with the Redevelopment Authority, it was decided that both men will serve on the committee for one year only and then the committee will then revert back to its original 10 person committee format next year. That item was approved unanimously by commissioners at their voting meeting on Thursday.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota prosecutor is calling on the public to share with investigators any recordings and evidence connected to the fatal shooting of Renee Good as new video emerged showing the final moments of her encounter with an immigration officer. The Minneapolis killing and a separate shooting in Portland, Oregon, a day later by the Border Patrol have set off protests in multiple cities. The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents.

A judge has ruled that President Donald Trump’s administration cannot block child care and other federal social service money from flowing to five states for now. The administration said Tuesday it would not release money for three programs aimed at helping needy children and their families in the Democratic-led states of California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said there was reason to believe there was fraud in those places, though it did not cite any evidence. Under the ruling on Friday, the new requirements are on hold until further court action.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military says U.S. forces have boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea as the Trump administration continues to target sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela. The pre-dawn action was carried out by Marines and Navy sailors launched from an aircraft carrier that is part of the extensive force the U.S. has built up in the Caribbean. That’s according to U.S. Southern Command, which declared “there is no safe haven for criminals” as it announced the seizure of the vessel called the Olina on Friday. The Olina is the fifth tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to control the production and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia has launched a massive overnight attack on Ukraine, using hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles. Officials say at least four people have been killed. For only the second time in the nearly 4-year-old war, it used a powerful, new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv’s NATO allies. The attack came days after Ukraine and its allies reported major progress toward agreeing on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck. The attack also coincides with a new chill in relations between Moscow and Washington over Venezuela and the U.S. seizure of one of its oil tankers in the North Atlantic.

Authorities in New Mexico have issued an arrest warrant for director and Emmy Award-winning actor Timothy Busfield to face a child sex abuse charge. An investigator with the Albuquerque Police Department said in a criminal complaint Friday that the child reported that Busfield touched him inappropriately. The acts allegedly occurred on the set of “The Cleaning Lady,” a TV series Busfield directed and acted in. The complaint says the child’s mother told Child Protective Services the abuse occurred between November 2022 and spring 2024. Busfield’s attorney and agent did not immediately respond to email messages seeking comment late Friday.